The developers behind the Global Water Center in Milwaukee on Friday bought a nearby building where construction could start in late fall on a second office catering to water technology companies.
The project is another partnership between Milwaukee developer HKS Holdings LLC and?The Water Council.
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An affiliate of HKS Holdings bought a large warehouse building at 326 W. Florida St. for $950,000 from an affiliate of U.S. Oil Co. Inc. and will renovate it into offices for established and startup water companies.
Construction will begin in late fall, said?Dean Amhaus, president and CEO of the Water Council. It could be ready for occupants in late summer or early fall 2016, he said.
Both the planned and existing water centers neighbor the Reed Street Yards water technology business park, which just landed its first building: a headquarters for?Rexnord Corp.?subsidiary?Zurn Industries LLC.
The first Water Center building at 247 W. Freshwater Way is at capacity. Planning will begin now to find tenants for the new building and plan for uses of various floors, Amhaus said. One concept would make small offices available for foreign water technology companies to have short-term leases and get plugged into Milwaukee?s water cluster without a large, up-front cost commitment.
?We?re getting a lot of interest from other parts of the world,? Amhaus said. ?They want to try it.?
The Water Council could also rent space in the building where, like in the first Water Center, it would house startup water tech firms.
