New tenant tackles full floor of Titletown District office building; developer teases more tenants for U.S. Venture Center
ASHWAUBENON - Proximity to clients, an edge in recruiting talent and a second-to-none view tipped the balance sheet in favor of a new tenant's move into the U.S. Venture Center office building in the Titletown District.
CLA, also known as CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, announced Thursday it has leased the entire second floor of the seven-story office building developed by the Green Bay Packers in partnership with Commercial Horizons. The Minneapolis-based company provides audit and tax consulting, outsourcing of accounting and payroll services, and wealth advisory services from 140 offices nationwide.
With CLA 's arrival in spring, the U.S. Venture Center will be about 70% leased. CLA will join Miron Construction and Breakthrough as tenants in the office building at 1175 Lombardi Ave. in Ashwaubenon.
The U.S. Venture Center includes 150,000 square feet of office space spread over five floors and a sixth floor with shared tenant spaces for meetings and events. The building is adjacent to a 152-unit apartment building that welcomed its first tenants in November.
Additional tenants are expected to finalize lease plans in the coming weeks, said Jeff Weyers, co-owner of Commercial Horizons, a development and property management company with offices in Green Bay and Appleton.
"We should be able to announce (additional tenants) within the next few weeks," Weyers said. "They're not the size of CLA, but all are strong companies with long roots in the community."
The additional leases would bring U.S. Venture Center up to 80% occupancy just two years after construction on the building started. Weyers said the last significant chunk of available space is 26,000 square feet on the building's first floor, which faces east and overlooks the Titletown District and Lambeau Field.
CLA expanded its Wisconsin operations with the acquisition of Schenck SC on Jan. 1, 2019. The companies have been in leased space at 2200 Riverside Drive in Allouez for 30 years.
The company's 130 year-round employees are currently spread out over multiple floors in the Riverside Drive location, hampering efficiency, said Brad Frank, managing principal for CLA's Green Bay, Manitowoc and Sheboygan operations. The space also does not lend itself well to technology upgrades, he said.
"We're due for a refresh," Frank said. "When I think about the experience for our CLA family, the ability to have much better collaboration, dedicated meeting spaces and having everyone on one floor, the efficiencies we will gain will be just outstanding."
He said the U.S. Venture Center space will give CLA room for private client meeting spaces, modern work stations along the windows and offices in the center of the floor plan, a design that maximizes natural light, improves efficiency and benefits clients. It will also provide ample space for the 15 seasonal interns CLA adds to the staff during busy tax seasons.
Frank said the space's design, its proximity to the Titletown District and the view of Lambeau Field will help the company recruit employees.
"We're super-excited about this opportunity," Frank said.
In the accounting firm, Weyers said the U.S. Venture Center landed a tenant that has the benefit of long-term community connections via Schenck and the ability to scale up that comes with being part of one of the top 10 accounting firms in the nation.
CLA is more than familiar with its new neighborhood. Since January, CliftonLarsonAllen has been the official CPA firm of TitletownTech, the Packers-Microsoft partnership that helps develop and invests in early-stage businesses and startups. Frank said staff are in the TitletownTech building every week to meet with startup founders, who are often not focused on the payroll and accounting functions of their business.
"We're meeting with the startups, the technology companies and providing a lot of outsourced accounting services to these companies," Frank said.
TitletownTech-supported companies focus on sports, media and entertainment; digital health; agriculture and the environment; advanced manufacturing; and supply chain technology. It has invested in 20 startups since it was established in July 2019.
The Packers' Titletown District is a 45-acre development west of Lambeau Field that offers a mix of recreation activities, food and drink, sports medicine clinics, TitletownTech, townhouses and luxury apartments west of Lambeau Field.
Contact Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @GBstreetwise.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Packers' Titletown District office building lands new major tenant
