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Northwestern Mutual’s North Office Tower with its modern glass facade, shown as interior renovation work begins on the landmark building.

With the exterior façade finished on Northwestern Mutual’s $500 million north office tower renovation, crews are working their way through some of the interior and amenities spaces.

Construction on the base building is roughly 80% complete, while interior work is closer to 50% and expected to be completed by the middle of next year. The building remains on track for completion in early 2027.

The renovation project was designed as the insurance provider plans to move roughly 2,000 employees downtown from its Franklin campus.

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View of Northwestern Mutual’s glass office towers in downtown Milwaukee, featuring reflective façades, landscaped rooftops, and surrounding city architecture at sunset.

Pickard Chilton is proud to continue our partnership with Northwestern Mutual of their ambitious repositioning of their North Office building in downtown Milwaukee. This $500 million transformation is designed to enhance connectivity for employees and the community, bringing new life to a key part of the city. We’re excited to see this project unfold! 

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View of Northwestern Mutual’s glass office towers in downtown Milwaukee, featuring reflective façades, landscaped rooftops, and surrounding city architecture at sunset.

At a time when many business leaders questioned the need for office real estate, Northwestern Mutual CEO John Schlifske spent 2021 and 2022 weighing options for the company’s aging north building in downtown Milwaukee. 

As Schlifske saw it, the Milwaukee-based life insurance company had three options for its north building: Tear it down and move employees to the company’s Franklin campus; demolish the building and rebuild a new one in its place; or renovate the existing building

Schlifske quickly gravitated toward the third option, he said. After months of planning, Northwestern Mutual in February announced it would undertake a $500 million renovation of the building and move 2,000 employees there from Franklin. 

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Northwestern Mutual today released the first images of its planned 32-story downtown Milwaukee office tower designed by Pickard Chilton. The 1.1-million-square-foot building which is expected to cost $450 million will replace Northwestern Mutual's office at 800 E. Wisconsin Ave. on Milwaukee’s lakefront.

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Northwestern Mutual officials have not strayed far beyond the simple description of “iconic” for the design of their planned downtown office. The development will be an at least $300 million, 30-story office tower to replace Northwestern Mutual’s downtown building.

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