BUSINESS

Northwestern Mutual officially opens 32-story skyscraper in Milwaukee

Paul Gores
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On a day when many eyes were looking upward, perhaps the only thing that drew more “oohs” and “aahs” Monday than Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.’s new skyscraper — at least in downtown Milwaukee — was the total eclipse of the sun.

“Spectacular” seemed to be the most repeated word during the grand opening of the company’s Tower and Commons, especially among employees who had gone to the top and seen the majestic views from the glass-encased 32nd floor.

“It’s spectacular, truly amazing,” said Sarah Schneider, Northwestern Mutual vice president for new business. “I can’t even believe how beautiful it is.”

Starting this week through mid-October, about 2,400 employees will be moving into the $450 million, natural-light-drenched glass tower on Milwaukee’s lakefront.

In a ceremony inside the building’s spacious Commons area Monday morning — the Commons will be largely open to the public — John Schlifske, Northwestern Mutual’s chairman and chief executive, described the project as “modern, but timeless.”

“I think 100 years from now people will still look at this building and remark how beautiful it is,” Schlifske told almost 200 people who attended the grand opening event.

Schlifske said the building was designed to reflect the company’s commitment to its business and the city, and the transformation it’s undergoing as it works to make Northwestern Mutual advisers and technology more central to the financial lives of policy-owners.

It’s also designed for openness, he said.

In addition to modern, flexible and open work areas, the building includes a large state-of-the-art health and fitness area and a dining section with fantastic views of Lake Michigan and the lakefront.

“It gives us a new work environment where people are connected to each other on a daily basis, both digitally and in person, by the way we can move around and interact,” he said.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said the huge project on Milwaukee’s lakefront was “amazingly noncontroversial.” Construction began in fall of 2014.

“I think the reason it was so noncontroversial is because it was Northwestern Mutual, and because of the reputation of this organization in this community,” he said.

Northwestern Mutual has been in business for 160 years. Its headquarters building, which is connected to the Tower and Commons by an atrium, was constructed in 1912.

The Tower and Commons construction project has employed more than 2,600 people. Among them are 1,200 local residents who previously were unemployed or underemployed and were hired through the city’s Residents Preference Program.

“The glass that envelops this building was fabricated by people who live in the central city of Milwaukee, and you gave them an opportunity to have jobs where they could support their families,” Barrett said during the ceremony.

Barrett noted, coincidentally on a day when another uncommon event occurred — a total solar eclipse viewable in the U.S. — the extraordinary nature of the Northwestern Mutual project.

“This is the most magnificent building that we’ve built in this city in generations,” Barrett said.

Project architect Jon Pickard, who also addressed the audience, noted the 1.1-million-square-foot building is part of an ongoing renewal of downtown Milwaukee.

“The building has truly engaged the new renaissance Milwaukee is experiencing and has gathered strength from that vitality,” Pickard said.

Employees were impressed.

“It’s spectacular,” said Peter Richardson, an attorney in Northwestern Mutual’s legal department. “It’s like walking into a new company.”

Georgia Esrael, an executive assistant at Northwestern Mutual, also was among those who described the Tower and Commons as spectacular.

“The views and the light —  it’s wonderful,” she said.