Scottfree Salons, which announced plans last June to open a location at downtown luxury apartment tower The Couture, is seeking to vacate its Milwaukee Street location and consolidate its downtown footprint to the tower in May.

Eight weeks from opening its new Couture location, Scottfree posted on Facebook last week an advertisement for a “turnkey opportunity” to move into its salon at 726 N. Milwaukee St. downtown, a space which it has occupied for the past 16 years.

“It’s like a relocation-expansion,” said Scott Yance, owner of Scottfree Salons.

Yance noted that the space, amenities and offerings at The Couture, although smaller than both of its existing salons, will allow the business to expand its services to include an apprenticeship program for new and seasoned cosmetologists to sharpen their skills, though its downtown footprint will decrease.

Scottfree’s 1,984-square-foot space on the second floor of The Couture will have seven chairs, two less than its space on Milwaukee Street.

Scottfree is working with Demetrios Dimitropoulos, owner of the building on Milwaukee Street, to attract a similar concept to the second-floor space. The salon features 11 styling stations, nine chairs, three shampoo bowls, a furnished client lounge, a color room, a washer and dryer, and a storage area, according to the Facebook post. Yance is offering to include the salon’s furniture and equipment as part of the deal for $5,000, though the price is not firm.

“It’s in my interest to keep (the space) alive, and if that means I have to give the equipment away, I’ll give the equipment away,” he said.

The space will become available in May in tandem with the opening of its salon at The Couture.

Scottfree’s Mequon location will not be affected by the downtown consolidation.

Scottfree’s salon at The Couture is one of two retail space projects underway at the building, both slated to open later this year. Chicago restaurant The Vig plans to open its first Wisconsin location on the second floor of the tower. To be called The Vig Milwaukee, the restaurant will occupy 10,800 square feet of space with lakefront views, including an 8,500-square-foot interior space and a 2,000-square-foot patio. The restaurant is expected to be open this summer.

In November, several floors on the lower half of The Couture were flooded due to a pipe that burst. Yance assured BizTimes on Tuesday that Scottfree’s space was not affected by the flooding, and that construction is on track for a spring opening.

The Couture. Photo credit: Sonia Spitz/BizTimes Media