Rite-Hite Affiliate Buys Global Water Center

The Global Water Center, an office building targeted at water-focused businesses, has a new owner that reflects the changing nature of the surrounding Reed Street Yards business park.

SixSibs Capital Corporation, an affiliate of Rite-Hite Holding Corporation, purchased the seven-story, 86,156-square-foot building at 247 W. Freshwater Way. It will continue to lease the building to other office tenants while Rite-Hite becomes the dominant business in the area.

The office building is a redeveloped factory from 1904. Originally built for the Molitor Paper Box Company and later occupied by the Murphy Specialty Company and Allied Canvas Products Corporation, the structure was redeveloped in 2013 into an office building. The redeveloped building includes a 44-seat auditorium, water testing and flow laboratory and executive conference room.

Located in Walker’s Point, the building was intended as the eastern gateway to a water-focused business park. And while the Global Water Center has attracted a number of small water tenants and Zurn Elkay Water Solutions built a headquarters in the business park, the area will soon be known for a warehouse equipment company.

Rite-Hite is in the process of relocating its headquarters from Brown Deer to a formerly vacant, 9.4-acre site immediately west of the Global Water Center. The nearly-complete three-building complex will ultimately house 300 employees. It includes a four-story office building, two-story research and development center and 450-space parking structure. SixSibs owns the property, which is to be leased to the privately-held company.

According to a press release, the Global Water Center has welcomed four new tenants since summer 2020: Xylem Water Solutions, Beckhoff Automation, OpenGov and Diverge Translational Science Laboratory. Other tenants include the Greater Milwaukee Committee. The structure is currently 88% leased.

The building was listed by Colliers International brokers Tom Shepherd and Jennifer Huber-Bullock. The property was sold by Water Accelerator LLC, the group that partnered with the nonprofit The Water Council to develop the building. It includes HKS Holdings and other investors.

A transaction price was not disclosed and the sale, which closed Nov. 1, does not yet appear in the Wisconsin real estate transfer system. The property is assessed for $13.9 million.

Photos

Aerial Photos of Rite-Hite HQ and Global Water Center