The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. is giving up to $750,000 to help companies move into a new Global Water Center building that will open in Milwaukee in a year.
The original Global Water Center building in Milwaukee is nearing capacity and has more than 40 tenants. Milwaukee developer HKS Holdings LLC and The Water Council will renovate a vacant industrial building at 332 W. Florida St. into a second water center.
That 46,000-square-foot building will open in January 2017, providing more office space for water-based businesses and start-ups. The WEDC is providing money for the Water Council to lease 11,728 square feet of the new building. The center will then rent out portions of that to entrepreneurs and smaller companies, including foreign businesses that want to test the Milwaukee market, said Dean Amhaus, president and CEO of The Water Council. Those deals could be for very low rental rates and for shorter lease terms.
“We’ve got companies that are looking to come here, small ones, but they don’t want to make a major commitment right away,” Amhaus said.