Milwaukee residents and passersby may have noticed the recent addition of Northwestern Mutual’s logo and signage on the western face of its rebuilt downtown Milwaukee office building.
With progress on track for a 2027 opening, the company’s 19-story North Office Building now touts several completed interior projects as well.
On Wednesday, the Milwaukee-based financial services company invited local media to tour the building’s ongoing interior projects including built-out internal workspaces, a rooftop garden on the fourth floor, and its new North Atrium/plaza.
The exterior of the building is about 80% complete; the inside is about 50% complete, according to Vince Senese, project executive at Rhode Island-based construction firm Gilbane Building Co., general contractor on the project.
The first five floors feature completed framework with walls, flooring and entryways separating offices from common workspaces and conference rooms. A central elevator landing on each floor opens to a “collaborative living” space with views of the city to the east and west, according to remarks from Tracy Lutterman, assistant director of construction management at Northwestern Mutual.
Also nearing completion is the building’s atrium and plaza, which span the southwest corner of the building on its ground floor. Northwestern Mutual overtook Cass Street as part of the building’s redevelopment. The street now serves as a thoroughfare from Wells Street into the building and through to Mason Street. The plaza, which will be open to the public, will allow pedestrians on bikes and on foot to pass through from Wells Street to Mason Street.
The New York-style Italian restaurant concept Il Ponte is planned for the ground floor of the building’s southeast corner. Il Ponte will be headed by chef Adam Siegel and his wife Daria Aitken-Siegel, owners of Lupi & Iris. Il Ponte is slated to open in fall 2026.
Alicia Dupies
Despite rising construction costs at neighboring projects in the city, Northwestern Mutual has been able to maintain its $500 million budget throughout the project thus far, said Alicia Dupies, vice president at Gilbane.
“One of the things that was a really smart investment was bringing a construction firm on early,” Dupies said. “Everything is looking great from both a schedule and a budget perspective.”
In August, workers finished placement of the building’s blue-tinted glass façade. Other recent project milestones include a refreshed parking structure which connects the office building to a community-facing structure spanning North Cass Street. The parking structure currently acts as employee parking with limited public spaces. The public spaces will be advertised as parking for guests dining at Il Ponte.
The project prepares Northwestern Mutual to move its 2,000 Franklin-based workers to downtown Milwaukee. Upon completion of the North Office Building, Northwestern Mutual’s downtown campus will be able to house up to 9,000 employees. The company has a current roster of 8,000 employees mostly spanning Milwaukee, Franklin and New York City.
Gilbane is working on the project in partnership with Milwaukee’s CG Schmidt Inc. These two, like many on the project team, also worked together on the Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons project in 2017.
