Johnson Controls is planning a new Glendale building. It would house operations moving from downtown.
Johnson Controls International Plc is planning to lease a new building that would be constructed at its Glendale corporate campus that would house some of the company's operations relocating from downtown Milwaukee.
The two-story, 105,000-square-foot development is being proposed for the northeast corner of North Baker Road and West Florist Avenue. It would include renovations of an existing building as well as newly constructed space, the company announced Thursday.
The facility would accommodate a new engineering center with laboratory space currently located at 507 E. Michigan St., in downtown Milwaukee.
It would bring together approximately 250 employees connected with Johnson Controls OpenBlue hardware and software engineering solutions. The company makes heating, air conditioning, fire protection, security systems and other equipment for hospitals, schools, military facilities, public housing and other buildings.
Johnson Controls announced in 2021 that it would move its downtown operations, with nearly 1,300 employees, to its underused Glendale corporate campus as a cost-cutting move.
Those downtown buildings were later sold to an affiliate of Kenosha-based Bear Development LLC, which is considering new uses for the site after the relocation occurs.
The new Glendale facility would be owned and developed by Weas Development Co. The Plan Commission is scheduled to review the proposal on April 11.
If approved, construction would start this spring. The building would be completed by late 2024.
Meanwhile, Johnson Controls is already making improvements to its existing Glendale headquarters.
Those include a new employee entrance at the corporate south building, contemporary work stations, collaboration spaces and landscaping upgrades, according to a company statement. That work will be completed over the coming months.
The new proposal surfaces after a previous plan from Weas Development was dropped in June.
That earlier proposal called for a 109,000-square-foot Johnson Controls office and research building on 6.4 acres east of North Green Bay Avenue and south of West Civic Drive.
It included a proposed tax incremental financing district at the site − which includes a former landfill.
That TIF district called for spending $4.25 million from new property tax revenue generated by the development. That includes $3.1 million to help finance the $21.8 million project.
Most of the remaining funds would have been spent on public improvements, including the eventual replacement of the nearby Oak Leaf Trail bridge over Green Bay Avenue.
Mayor Bryan Kennedy said he doesn't expect Weas Development to seek a TIF in connection with the new proposal.
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: Johnson Controls plans new Glendale building for downtown operations
