154-Year-Old Milwaukee Company Returns To City
DHI Corp. relocates its headquarters from Mequon to former Milwaukee Film office.
1037 W. McKinley Ave. in 2016. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
A company founded in Milwaukee in 1872 is returning to the city after several decades in the suburbs.
DHI Corp., the home products company behind the Design House and Leick Home brands, has relocated its corporate headquarters to the former Pabst Brewing Company complex.
The company reports it has moved into a 4,500-square-foot office at 1037 W. McKinley Ave. in The Brewery District. Approximately 25 employees, including the company’s leadership, merchandising and marketing teams, will be based at the new location.
DHI, which previously operated as the Butter Company, moved its headquarters to Mequon in 2002 after being located in Germantown and Menomonee Falls.
“Milwaukee is an important part of DHI’s history, and we are proud to make it part of our future,” said JP Drevline, the CEO of DHI Corp., in a statement announcing the relocation. “This move is an investment in our people, our growth, and the community where our company began. Milwaukee gives us access to the talent and business relationships that will help DHI continue to grow and compete.”
The four-story McKinley Avenue building is part of the historic Pabst Brewery complex. Originally known as Building 14, it was used for research and development by the brewing company.
Milwaukee Film last occupied the second-floor space DHI now inhabits. The nonprofit organization opened an office in the building in 2018 but later vacated the space as it consolidated its operations at the Oriental Theatre.
The property is owned by Jonja Holdings, an entity affiliated with CSA Commercial and filmmaker John Ridley. The partners acquired the property in 2018 as part of the development of Nō Studios, an arts and culture hub that includes a partial fourth floor.
DHI’s return brings another office tenant to The Brewery District, where the former brewery buildings have been redeveloped for residential, commercial, hospitality and institutional uses.
“DHI Corp’s return is a meaningful addition to Milwaukee’s business community and reflects the momentum taking place across the city,” said Lafayette Crump, Department of City Development commissioner, in a statement. “We welcome the company’s investment in the Pabst District and its commitment to creating opportunities for Milwaukee-area workers.”
DHI traces its history to Gustav A. Butter, who opened a tinsmith and hardware business in Walker’s Point in 1872.
The business subsequently operated as Butter Hardware and the Butter Company, remaining in the Butter family for four generations. It introduced the Design House brand in the late 1980s, expanding into a broad range of home improvement products. The company ran into financial problems in 1999 after a series of debt-financed expansions and declared bankruptcy. Its assets were purchased in 2001 by DHI, a new entity made up of some of the prior leadership team, and the company was reconstituted in Mequon.
In 2020, DHI acquired Sheboygan-based Leick Home, a furniture company with its own four-generation history.
DHI sells lighting, bathroom furniture and accessories, hardware and indoor and outdoor furniture through national retail, e-commerce and distribution partners.
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