CityCenter at Seven Thirty-Five is more than a historic architectural staple of downtown Milwaukee's past, it marks a belief from the buyer and selling agents that preserving a well-known part of the downtown can help revitalize the area.
As a result, the office complex and parking garage at 731, 735 and 740 N. Water St. has been selected by a panel of industry professionals as the 2025 CoStar Impact Awards sale/acquisition of the year for the Milwaukee/Madison market.
The neoclassical CityCenter at Seven Thirty-Five was sold for $19.19 million in August 2024 to E.A. Staples and Associates LLC from North Riverside, Illinois; the buyer is bullish on the downtown market and plans to continue to operate CityCenter as offices in a vote of confidence for long-term sustainability of the area for workspace. Commercial real estate services firm CBRE advised Compass Properties North Water Street LLC in the deal for the complex and parking garage in downtown Milwaukee.
The buildings are well known, with 735 North Water Street originally called the First National Bank Building, designed by the renowned architect Daniel Burnham. At 16 stories tall, 735 North Water Street held the title of the tallest building in Milwaukee from its construction in 1912 through 1930.
Situated on the Milwaukee River and Milwaukee RiverWalk, CityCenter is in the center of Milwaukee’s central business district. CityCenter is within walking distance of the Fiserv Forum, a number of Milwaukee’s theaters and Veterans Park on Lake Michigan. More apartments have been completed in the area, so residents there would have a short commute to this project.
The previous owners bought the property in 2002 and restored 735 North Water Street with an eye toward its historic features, a process that culminated in October 2007 with the City of Milwaukee’s Common Council officially designating it a local historic structure.
CityCenter hit the market at a difficult time for downtown office demand. Undercut by the COVID-19 pandemic, CityCenter's occupancy dropped to about 54% at the onset of CBRE’s marketing. Exacerbating the situation was a shift in office space needs with remote and hybrid work policies accelerating in the health crisis.
Another complication: interest rates ticked higher when the Federal Reserve tried to quell surging inflation as the economy picked up after the pandemic slowdown. The 10-year Treasury yield hit a 16-year high at the onset of the sales campaign in fall 2023. Coupled with risk associated with offices that were at the time in relatively low demand, debt markets made the situation even more challenging for potential buyers to underwrite the purchase.
CBRE's listing team of Patrick Gallagher, Matson Holbrook and Brian Wolff was experienced in downtown Milwaukee deals, having handled other office properties including neighboring 100 East, The River Bank Plaza that's now 740 North, and 411 East Wisconsin Center.
A study of the potential adaptive reuse of the 735 North Water Street building, with a U-shaped floorplate, found that it could be converted to multifamily, hospitality or mixed-use, so the CBRE team used dual-track marketing to potential buyers for offices or as a conversion.
About the project: The building was constructed in various phases from 1912 to 1952, with about 454,100 gross square feet and about 307 parking spaces.
What the judges said: "This is an impressive Sale/Acquisition, especially considering the volatility of the Downtown CBD office market. This helps create more activity in Milwaukee's Downtown area," said Isaac Berg, a real estate adviser at Colliers.
They made it happen: Matson Holbrook, first vice president, Brian Wolf, vice president, and Patrick Gallagher, executive vice president, CBRE.