The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has purchased the former Midwest Express, and later Caterpillar Global Mining and then Master Lock, corporate headquarters office building in Oak Creek, which will serve as its new pastoral center, to be moved there from its longtime home in St. Francis.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Kevin Barry and James T Barry III of The Barry Company represented the archdiocese in the transaction and Rachel Schmidt and Tim Janusz of Newmark represented the seller, Janesville-based Kaiser LLC.
The 120,000-square-foot building in Oak Creek is located at 6744 S. Howell Ave. It sits on a 27-acre site and has more than 700 parking spaces.
Credit: The Archdiocese of Milwaukee 6744 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee
The current Mary Mother of the Church Pastoral Center in St. Francis, located at 3501 S. Lake Drive, is costly to maintain and faces substantial deferred maintenance requirements, the archdiocese said. It determined that investing in a newer building approximately one-third the size of its current location provides “a more sustainable and cost-effective solution,” according to a news release announcing the deal.
“This decision reflects our commitment to responsible stewardship and to the long-term mission of the church,” said The Most Reverend Jeffrey S. Grob, archbishop of Milwaukee. “By relocating to a modern, appropriately sized facility, we are reducing future operating costs while creating a pastoral center that better supports collaboration, accessibility and service to our parishes, schools and ministries.”
Renovations to the Oak Creek building, which will become the new Mary Mother of the Church Pastoral Center, including the addition of a private chapel, will begin immediately. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee staff will relocate and begin using the new location in phases, starting this fall. A total of 235 archdiocese employees will work at the facility.
A blessing of the chapel and building is expected in spring of 2027.
The building originally served as the corporate headquarters for Midwest Express, later known as Midwest Airlines, which was acquired by Republic Airways Holdings in 2009. The Midwest Airlines brand was eliminated, and the company was merged with Denver-based Frontier Airlines. Airline operations were completely moved out of the building in 2010.
After Caterpillar acquired South Milwaukee-based mining equipment manufacturer Bucyrus in 2010, the company established the headquarters of its global mining division at the former Midwest Express building. But the company closed the Oak Creek facility in 2015 and moved employees from there back to South Milwaukee.
In 2017, Master Lock moved its headquarters from another building in Oak Creek to the 6744 S. Howell Ave. building. Last year Fortune Brands, the parent company of Master Lock, decided to move its operations out of Oak Creek, to consolidate regional offices at its headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois.
The 6744 S. Howell Ave. building was sold in December for $2.75 million by an affiliate of New York City-based investment firm W.P. Carey, which bought the property in 2016 for $16.85 million, to Janesville-based private investment firm Kaiser LLC.
As for the current Mary Mother of the Church Pastoral Center in St. Francis, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee is evaluating future plans for the 44-acre property with a 420,000-square-foot building. The archdiocese said inquiries about the property, formerly known as the Archbishop Cousins Catholic Center, should be directed to Kevin Barry of The Barry Company.
