Proposed skywalk backed [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

July 03--A proposed skywalk for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.'s expanding downtown Milwaukee campus won preliminary approval Monday from a city panel.

The skywalk would link the company's historic headquarters building at 720 E. Wisconsin Ave. to a building at 733 N. Van Buren St. that Northwestern Mutual is buying. The Skywalk Design Committee recommended Common Council approval for a proposed ordinance that would grant a 99-year lease for the city's air rights to accommodate the skywalk.

The proposed annual rent payment hasn't yet been determined, said Jeff Fleming, Department of City Development spokesman. The ordinance is to be reviewed by the Plan Commission and the council's Public Works Committee before going to the full council on July 24.

The skywalk would cross Van Buren St. with a 22-foot clearance, five feet higher than the minimum clearance required by the state Department of Transportation, attorney Brian Randall, representing the company, told committee members.

Northwestern Mutual in December announced it would buy the Van Buren St. building to provide temporary office space as it works to replace a nearby building that will be demolished.

The sale of the seven-story building is to close by the end of 2012, and obtaining city approval for the skywalk is one of the sale contingencies, Randall said. The building is now owned by Van Buren Building Co., led by developer Joel Lee.

The 153,720-square-foot Van Buren St. building, along with space in Northwestern Mutual's other downtown properties, will accommodate about 1,000 employees who now work in a company building south of E. Mason St. and east of N. Cass St.

The company announced plans in September to demolish the 16-story building and replace it with a new building, either downtown or at its Franklin campus.

The insurer said company executives have determined that the 500,000-square-foot building, known for its brown color, is facing extensive long-term maintenance costs.

Employees who work in the building will not be relocated until 2013, with the building to be razed by the end of that year. About 100 employees will move to the Franklin offices on S. 27th St., north of W. Drexel Ave.

The company's process to determine its future space needs is to be completed later this year, company spokesman Mark Lucius said.

Meanwhile, the skywalk plan and impending building purchase amount to "an investment in downtown so those employees can remain in the short term," Randall said.

"We certainly need the skywalk to integrate into the rest of the campus," he said.

The downtown campus includes a building at 611 E. Wisconsin Ave. and a building at 818 E. Mason St. Northwestern Mutual employs about 3,000 people downtown and 2,000 in Franklin.

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