Baker Tilly accounting and business advisory firm, one of the larger tenants at downtown Milwaukee's U.S. Bank Center, is moving to another downtown office high-rise.

The firm plans to set up shop this summer at BMO Tower, 790 N. Water St., according to commercial real estate industry sources.

Baker Tilly has leased space at U.S. Bank Center, 777 E. Wisconsin Ave., for several years.

Baker Tilly has around 68,000 square feet on three floors at U.S. Bank Center. It will lease around 40,000 square feet on two floors at BMO Tower.

The firm evaluates its office leases as they come up for renewal "to ensure optimal space utilization and a workplace that increases productivity and, even more important, provides an enjoyable, inspiring experience," according to a Baker Tilly statement.

"Our new work stations, offices and conference rooms will be equipped with new technology to pave the way for seamless collaboration with team members and clients, in person and virtually," it said.

The move comes as office users continue to change their space needs in light of the rise of remote work following the COVID-19 pandemic.

That process will likely lead to more downsizing by office users nationwide during the second half of 2023, said Patrick Savoie, a vice president at the Milwaukee office of JLL, a commercial real estate brokerage.

But that downsizing also will be accompanied by office tenants investing in high-quality locations with strong building amenities such as fitness centers, conference rooms and worker lounge areas − an effort to lure employees back to the office, Savoie said.

He spoke at a Tuesday conference sponsored by Commercial Association of Realtors-Wisconsin.

Baker Tilly operates its headquarters in Chicago. It has 384 employees based at the firm's Milwaukee office.

Baker Tilly's pending relocation is the largest among a series of recent tenant wins for BMO Tower, with its occupancy rate now more than 80%.

Others moving this year to BMO Tower include Fiduciary Management Inc., from the 100 East tower, 100 E. Wisconsin Ave.; CBRE Inc., from U.S. Bank Center; Silvercrest Asset Management Group Inc., from 825 N. Jefferson St., and a second Milwaukee-area location for Kindbody, a national chain of fertility clinics.

BMO Tower was developed by Irgens Partners LLC and opened in September 2020. Its anchor tenants are BMO Harris Bank and Michael Best & Friedrich law firm.

The tower's other tenants include Kahler Slater architectural firm, with a Fiddleheads cafe on the ground floor.

A representative of Irgens declined to comment.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Baker Tilly moving Milwaukee office to BMO Tower from U.S. Bank Center