JLL closes sale and financing of Milwaukee creative office

CHICAGO, January 22, 2020 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has arranged the $9.65 million sale ($112 per square foot) and $7.6 million financing for 222 East Erie, an 85,000-square-foot, creative office building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

JLL represented the private seller and procured the buyer, R2 Companies. Additionally, JLL worked on behalf of R2 Companies to secure the acquisition financing through a Chicago-based financial institution.   

Originally built in 1896 as a bakery, 222 East Erie was repositioned in 2006 into a creative office asset. The four-story, boutique brick-and-timber loft office property is in Milwaukee’s historic Third Ward and is one of the few properties in the micro-market to offer on-site parking. The Historic Third Ward is one of the city’s creative hubs, home to galleries, studios, performing arts venues, restaurants and boutiques, resembling a Meat Packing District within Downtown Milwaukee. 222 East Erie is positioned steps away from the Milwaukee’s Riverwalk and benefits from proximity to both the Milwaukee Intermodal Station and the Milwaukee Streetcar route. 

The JLL Capital Markets team representing the seller was led by Senior Managing Directors Jaime Fink, Jeffrey Bramson and Bruce Miller, Senior Director Patrick Shields and Director Sam DiFrancesca.

“R2's continued investment within Milwaukee further demonstrates the strength and desirability of the market particularly with regard to its unique stock of creative office inventory,” DiFrancesca said.   

The financing efforts were led by JLL Capital Markets Managing Director Christopher Carroll and Director Lucas Borges.

“222 E Erie embodies all of the attributes desired by today’s modern/creative users, the most active segment of the submarket,” Borges noted.

“JLL is pleased to have the opportunity to work with R2, who’s amongst the premier creative office investors in the market,” added Carroll.

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment advisory, debt placement, equity placement or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,700 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

For more news, videos and research resources on JLL, please visit the firm’s U.S. media center Web page: U.S. newsroom.

R2 Companies is a privately held, fully integrated real estate investment firm based in Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis. For more information, please visit: r2.me.