Couture, Northwestern Mutual and US Bank buildings
Northwestern Mutual and the U.S. Bank building dominate the downtown Milwaukee skyline.
Mike De Sisti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
If built—and that’s a pretty big “if”—the 55-story apartment tower proposed for downtown Milwaukee would be the tallest building in Wisconsin.
How tall are the other skyscrapers in the city center?
The tallest building is the US Bank Center with its 42 stories. The office tower at 777 E. Wisconsin Ave. reaches a height of 601 feet.
The 55-story apartment tower, part of a planned mixed-use project in the parking garage of the Marcus Performing Art Center, 1001 N. Water St., is expected to reach a height of 600 feet, according to concept plans from the developer, Madison-based The Neutral Project LLC.
Neutral Project’s plans could change. The City Council must first grant the company a one-year exclusive right to negotiate the purchase of the city-owned property — something some council members may object to. In the meantime, the company hopes to soon begin construction on The Edison, a 32-story, 375-foot-tall, 383-unit apartment tower at 1005 N. Edison St.
Here is a summary of the 10 tallest buildings in downtown.
US Bank Center
As mentioned above, the 103,000 square meter office tower is 184 meters tall, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
It opened in 1973 as First Wisconsin Center, named after the bank that developed the building and used much of it as its headquarters. First Wisconsin National Bank changed its name to Firstar Bank in 1988, and the building changed its name as well. The office tower was renamed U.S. Bank Center after a merger of U.S. Bank and Firstar Bank in 2002.
The building received a major boost in 2023 when asset management firm Baird signed a five-year lease extension through 2033, expanding its operations there. That deal also allowed Baird, U.S. Bank Center’s largest tenant, to put its name on two of the building’s four rooftop signs.
Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons
The Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons, 800 E. Wisconsin Ave., is 554 feet tall, according to the Council on Tall Buildings.
The 32-story, 103,000-square-foot tower and its public spaces opened in 2017 and are known for their curved structure and glass curtain walls.
It serves as a model for Northwestern Mutual’s ongoing renovation of its 18-story, 540,000-square-foot office building, 818 E. Mason St. That project, scheduled for completion in 2027, will allow the company to move its operations of about 2,000 employees from Franklin to the downtown campus.
The Couture
The Couture residential tower, 929 E. Michigan St., opened in April after nearly three years of construction. The 44-story, 322-unit high-rise is 530 feet tall.
The Couture proposal was introduced in July 2012 by Barrett Lo Visionary Development LLC. The proposal was delayed in part by a legal dispute over the claim that much of the site is on the former bed of Lake Michigan and cannot be used for private development.
The Couture includes a transit hall for The Hop streetcar and Milwaukee County’s Connect 1 Wisconsin Avenue Bus Rapid Transit.
100 East
The 152 m high 100 East is being converted from an office tower to a residential tower.
The 35-story, 41,500-square-foot building at 100 E. Wisconsin Ave. opened in 1989 and is operated by the law firm of Michael Best. Michael Best moved to the new BMO Tower at 790 N. Water St. in 2020, and other tenants of the 100 East office have moved out.
The building was sold in August 2023 for $28.75 million to a group led by Klein Development Inc. and developer and investor John Vassallo. They plan to convert it into nearly 400 apartments.
University Club Tower
The University Club Tower, a 36-story high-rise with 53 condominiums, opened in 2007 at 825 N. Prospect Ave.
The 446-foot tower was one of the last major downtown condo buildings to open as the housing bubble burst and was developed by the Mandel Group Inc.
Connected Bank River Center
The Associated Bank River Center, formerly known as the Milwaukee Center, is a 28-story, 35,400-square-foot office tower located at 111 E. Kilbourn Ave. and rising 120 meters.
A subsidiary of Green Bay-based Associated Bank purchased the building, which opened in 1987, in 2016 for $60.5 million. Associated Bank moved its branches there from Milwaukee and made several improvements to attract more tenants.
411 East Wisconsin Center
411 East Wisconsin Center, 411 E. Wisconsin Ave., is a 30-story, 700,000-square-foot office tower whose anchor tenants include two major law firms: Quarles & Brady and von Briesen & Roper. It opened in 1985.
411 East Wisconsin Center is 408 feet tall. It was sold in 2017 for $124.6 million to an affiliate of Middleton Partners, a private real estate investment firm based in Northbrook, Illinois.
7Seventy7
7Seventy7 is a 35-story tower with 310 luxury condos (777 N. Van Buren St.). The highest height is 387 feet.
Northwestern Mutual developed 7Seventy7, which opened in 2018. The ground floor commercial spaces include restaurants Lupi and Iris and Andiamo Coffee and Tea.
Kilbourn Tower
The 33-story Kilbourn Tower is a residential high-rise building located at 923 E. Kilbourn Ave., north of the University Club Tower. It opened in 2005.
The 74-unit Kilbourn Tower is 380 feet tall and was developed by New Land Enterprises and Fiduciary Real Estate Development Inc.
Milwaukee City Hall
An oldie but a goodie! Yes, at 353 feet, City Hall, 200 E. Wells St., surpasses downtown’s newest apartment tower, 333 Water. The latter, which developer Hines opened in June at 333 N. Water St., is 343 feet tall and has 31 stories.
The town hall in Flemish Renaissance style was built between 1893 and 1895.
Tom Daykin can be contacted via email at [email protected] and followed on Instagram, X and Facebook.
