Northwestern Mutual unveiled plans for a new $450 million, 32-story office tower in Milwaukee. The curved glass tower, designed by Pickard Chilton, will replace an existing 16-story building and reshape Milwaukee's skyline. It will provide space for Northwestern Mutual's 3,600 existing employees as well as an additional 1,900 jobs over the next 15 years. The development will also include a three-acre public space called the Commons. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2014 and be completed in 2017.

1. THE NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL
TOWER AND COMMONS
SELECT MEDIA COVERAGE
DEAL OF THE WEEK September 24, 2013, 7:02 p.m. ET
Milwaukee Office Tower to Get Silicon
Implant
Northwestern Mutual Plans $450 Million, 32-Story Tower
Northwestern Mutual's $450 million, 32-story tower will be one of Milwaukee's tallest buildings.
The design for what would be Milwaukee's tallest new office building in more than 20 years, set to be
unveiled this week, combines two motifs that often compete: a high-rise exterior typically associated
with staid finance and law firms and a large, open interior popularized by Silicon Valley.
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., founded in the 1800s, is building the $450 million, 32-story
tower on its existing downtown campus near Lake Michigan. When completed, Northwestern Mutual's
curved glass tower will be the state's largest single-tenant office building.

2. THE NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL
TOWER AND COMMONS
"It's a sign that the economy is starting to come back," Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said of the new
tower.
Northwestern Mutual's tower also shows how new workplace-design ideas often associated with
technology companies operating out of converted industrial buildings are taking hold far away from
Silicon Valley. Companies from a range of industries are trying to make their workplaces more
collaborative, eschewing private offices in favor of open space.
"What we're seeing is a demographic shift where a newer generation prefers to be in an urban setting
and that's coinciding with the national trend toward more collaborative space," said Dan Jessup, an
office broker in Milwaukee with Jones Lang LaSalle.
Architectural firm Pickard Chilton of New Haven, Conn., designed the building with a focus on
accommodating the way people now work and interact. The building will offer expansive lake views
from loft-style open offices. The top floor will be public space that includes a conference room and a
larger room with vaulted ceilings that can be used for meetings and other events, said Jon Pickard, co-
founding principal at Pickard Chilton.
The tower's bottom three-story base, dubbed the Commons, will include a company cafeteria designed
to be a central meeting space for employees from all buildings, as well as spaces for informal meetings
and a public cafe on the street level. It also will be connected to existing buildings on campus.
"It's an incredible opportunity to change the way we're working," said John Schlifske, chief executive of
Northwestern Mutual, noting the new tower was designed in part to help the company attract and retain
workers.
Yet Mr. Schlifske's office will remain in a neoclassical building next door, a decision he said reflects the
company's view of the tower as an investment in its workforce rather than as a palace for senior
executives.
The design will stop short of amenities common in Silicon Valley. "We won't have slides and foosball
tables and nobody's going to be drinking beer at their desk but it's more West Coast than Midwest," Mr.
Schlifske said.
The tower's planned 550-foot height will make it one of the city's tallest, though the tallest will remain
the 601-foot U.S. Bank Center built in 1970s, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban

3. THE NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL
TOWER AND COMMONS
Habitat. Mr. Pickard said he wasn't tempted to push to make it taller because the current building is a
better match to the company's needs. He also said the building's features reflected the growing focus
in the U.S. on building well-thought-out working environments.
"The days of slathering on lots of granite and marble to make it more precious are disappearing," he
said. "You're seeing buildings that are more responsive to employee needs."
Northwestern Mutual, which has about 3,000 of its 5,000 employees at its downtown Milwaukee
campus, expects the new tower will help it accommodate some 1,900 new jobs it aims to add
downtown.
The bigger tower will be built with the help of $54 million in city tax incentives. Northwestern Mutual
decided to revamp and expand in the city rather than on an existing nearby suburban campus because
of the city's financial support, along with the firm's long history downtown.
The new tower and Northwestern Mutual's growth are a welcome sign for an older industrial city that
has struggled to remake itself in the wake of an erosion of its manufacturing base. The office vacancy
rate in Milwaukee's central business district stood at 18.4% in the second quarter, above the national
rate of 17% but below the 19.6% peak in the second quarter of 2011, according to real-estate-research
firm Reis Inc.
Write to Maura Webber Sadovi at maura.sadovi@wsj.com

4. JSOnline.com
September 25, 2013
Page 1 of 3
Northwestern Mutual releases designs for
office tower
By Mary Louise Schumacher of the Journal Sentinel
Sept. 25, 2013

5. JSOnline.com
September 25, 2013
Page 2 of 3
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. unveiled designs Wednesday for an
understated but sophisticated lakefront building that will be the largest office tower
erected downtown in 40 years.
“The opportunity to conceive, design and then construct an architectural
masterpiece on a site that is among the most beautiful in the country, right
here on the Milwaukee lakefront, that is just another sign of the tangible
progress we have made,” said John E. Schlifske, the president and CEO of
Northwestern Mutual, at an event to unveil the designs.
The 32-story office tower will “reshape Milwaukee’s skyline,” Schlifske said.
The $450 million project also includes three acres of outdoor public space
and a connecting structure being called a commons.
Jon Pickard, of Pickard Chilton of New Haven, Conn., the design architect on
the project, likened the campus to a small city and described the new tower
as a “quiet, elegant and proud building.”
“I think it is going to be an extraordinarily beautiful building,” said Pickard,
whose firm is known for significant corporate buildings such as 300 North
LaSalle in Chicago. “It’s the kind of building that when you see it and
understand how the morning light will reflect on the curve, when you see
the actual detailing on it, it’s going to be extremely sophisticated.
“If people expect something a little glitzier, they should feel free to go to
Dubai,” he said, adding that architectural fashions will come and go.
Northwestern Mutual, a company that has been around for more than 150
years, needed something timeless, he said.
The tower has a south-facing curve that echoes the bend in Wisconsin Ave.
as it turns into Prospect Ave. and will sit directly east of the company’s neoclassical and historic 1914
headquarters. Viewed from the eastern end, the tower comes to a point and the smoothness of the curvy
side gives way to crisp and varied elevations on Prospect Ave. and E. Mason St.
The three-story commons will provide connections between the old and new buildings and create a
glassy enclosure on Cass St.between E. Wisconsin Ave. and E. Mason St. The commons will house a
visitors center, a cafe and a dining area that will be open to the public.
One of the most distinctive spaces in the tower will be a dining hall, set into the curvy, south elevation
and with a high, canted ceiling. Dining together is a longstanding tradition among NorthwesternMutual
employees, of which there are about 3,600, Pickard said. He wanted to honor that, he said.
The new office tower will replace a smaller structure, erected in 1979 and designed by the late
architectDer Scutt, who designed Manhattan’s Trump Tower. The carnelian granite, 451,000-square-foot
building has structural problems and is considered obsolete.

6. JSOnline.com
September 25, 2013
Page 3 of 3
When it became clear that the 1979 building would
be demolished, Northwestern Mutual considered
moving its employees to other locations, and this
might have meant a shifting of more than 1,000
downtown jobs to the suburbs, said Milwaukee Mayor
Tom Barrett. Instead, the development will make it
possible to keep those jobs downtown and perhaps
add another 1,900 jobs by 2030, the company
estimates. These new jobs have an average salary of
about $60,000, the company has said.
“That swing of about 3,000 jobs is huge,” said
Barrett.
“It really does serve as a catalyst for other economic
development,” Barrett said. “Northwestern Mutual is
making a statement that it believes in itself and its
future in the city.”
The insurance giant secured a package of financing from the City of Milwaukee. A tax incremental
financing district will allow Northwestern Mutual to recover $50 million through property tax rebates over
a period of 25 years. This could amount to a savings of 70% on the office tower’s annual property tax
bills.
Also, property taxes from the new office tower will help fund road work, pedestrian bridges, street
enhancements and workforce training costs, the company states.
While the building will be one of Milwaukee’s largest, it will not be the tallest. It calls for 1.1 million
square feet of space, as compared to the 1.08 million square feet of the 42-story U.S. Bank Building,
Milwaukee’s tallest building, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and completed in 1973.
One structure, a sky bridge connecting the insurance company’s headquarters to a parking garage across
E. Mason St., may be knocked down as part of the project.
“I’d like that to go away,” said Pickard, adding that he felt strongly that the view of Eero Saarinen’s War
Memorial should be unobstructed.
Construction on the Northwestern Mutual tower is slated to begin in fall of 2014, and the project should
be completed in the latter half of 2017.
The Northwestern Mutual project is one of several near Milwaukee’s lakefront touted by Barrett, Gov.
Scott Walker and County Executive Chris Abele this year. These plans include extending Lincoln Memorial
Drive south into the Historic Third Ward, moving ramps for I-794 near the Hoan Bridge and making room
for other building projects, such as the Couture, a mixed-use tower proposed for the eastern end of
Michigan St.
The lakefront “is just going to have a fresh, a very fresh and inviting feel to it,” Barrett said.
Mary Louise Schumacher is the Journal Sentinel's art and architecture critic. Her review of the
Northwestern Mutual tower design will appear in Cue on Sunday. Email her at

7. JSOnline.com
September 25, 2013
Page 2 of 3
mschumacher@journalsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter (@artcity) and Facebook
((facebook.com/artcity).

8. JSOnline.com
September 25, 2013
Northwestern Mutual's proposed office tower
Posted: Sept. 25, 2013
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. has just unveiled designs for its glassy, 32-story office tower
that it says will “reshape Milwaukee’s skyline.” The new curved structure at 800 E. Wisconsin Ave. will
sit directly east of the company’s historic 1914 headquarters.

9. JSOnline.com
September 25, 2013

10. Milwaukee Magazine
September 25, 2013
Morning Links for Sept. 25, 2013
A brief look at some new looks. BY HOWIE MAGNER 9/25/2013
Apparently, Milwaukeeans are in a mood to change how things look around here. Or to
run a long way before defusing a bomb.
• Northwestern Mutual shared the design for its new Downtown Milwaukee 32-story
tower, and a Wall Street Journal headline dubs it a "Silicon Implant." That's a play off
the inspiration for the tower's open-concept interior, a feel popularized by Silicon Valley
companies. The $450 million project will sport a sleek, curved-glass exterior and will
reshape Milwaukee's skyline.

11. BizTimes.com
September 25, 2013
Page 1 of 2
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Northwestern Mutual reveals tower design
September 25, 2013 10:00 AM
Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. today unveiled the design for the new $450
million, 32-story, 1.1-million-square-foot office tower that it plans to build at its downtown Milwaukee
corporate headquarters campus.
“Northwestern Mutual will change our skyline in a dramatic and positive way,” said Milwaukee Mayor Tom
Barrett.
"Inside and out, Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons reflects our belief in the city that we have
called home for almost our entire history," said chairman, president and chief executive officer John
Schlifske. "This development symbolizes our confidence in Milwaukee and the passion and pride our
policyowners, employees and financial representatives feel for their company."
The new Northwestern Mutual building will replace a 16-story, 452,000- square-foot building on its
headquarters campus. That building, constructed in 1978, needs significant structural repairs, renovations
and upgrades so the company plans to tear it down and replace it with the new building. Demolition work
will begin early next year.
The new building is being designed by New Haven, Conn.-based Pickard Chilton, which is the design
architect for the project. Houston-based Kendall/Heaton Associates isthe architect of record for the
project. The firm has collaborated with Pickard Chilton on several projects. Chicago-based Valerio Dewalt
Train Associates will be the interior architect for the project. Houston-based Hines is the development
manager for the project.
"From the start, Northwestern Mutual's leadership sought to build a headquarters representative of their
corporate ethos of doing the right thing," said Jon Pickard, principal of Pickard Chilton. "To us, that meant
designing a building of enduring beauty and value that respectfully balances the expectations of
policyowners with the desire for a state-of-the-art workplace, while making significant contributions to its
campus and Milwaukee's urban vitality. I believe our design successfully achieves these goals."
"We wanted to create a beautiful complement to the Milwaukee skyline from the start, but this is first of all
a workplace that has to meet the practical needs of our business," Schlifske said. "This is a once-in-a-
generation opportunity to create greater efficiency and more employee collaboration, as well as additional
energy and excitement for the community."
About 1,100 employees work in the building that will be torn down. Those employees will be moved to the
new building and the company plans to add another 1,900 employees there by 2030.
The city is providing $54 million in tax incremental financing (TIF) for the project.
Construction is expected to begin in 2014 and the project is expected to be complete in 2017. More than
three dozen local companies have already received contracts related to the construction project,
according to Northwestern Mutual.

12. OnMilwaukee.com
September 25, 2013
Page 1 of 2
Northwestern Mutual reveals newest member of the
Milwaukee skyline
Published Sept. 25, 2013 at 12:36 p.m.
Late Wednesday morning, Northwestern Mutual unveiled drawings of the newest member of the Milwaukee skyline: the
Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons.
The building, which will replace the company's current east office building, will be 32 stories high with curved glass panels arcing
southeast toward Lake Michigan. Architect Jon Pickard, of Pickard Chilton, and John Schlifske, chairman, president and CEO of
Northwestern Mutual, noted they wanted the new building to take advantage of Milwaukee's lakefront and also bring natural light
into the workplace.
Along with the tower comes the Northwestern Mutual Commons, a public community space which will include a visitors' center,
cafe, outdoor dining area and an almost three-acre public garden area.
Schlifske said he hopes the new Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons will serve as a reflection of the company's ongoing
commitment to Milwaukee, as well as an iconic structure for the city that will stand the test of time.
Construction of the tower is scheduled to begin in December with the tearing down of the current east office building. The
groundbreaking is expected to take place sometime during the fall of 2014, and NML expects to move into the new space in 2017.
Speaking at the public design unveiling, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett called the Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons
"catalytic," and also noted the new high-rise makes a statement that "Milwaukee is fighting forward."
And apparently upward, as well.

13. WISN.com
September 25, 2013
Page 1 of 2
Design for Northwestern Mutual building to be released
UPDATED 7:30 AM CDT Sep 25, 2013

14. UrbanMilwaukee.com
September 25, 2013
Page 1 of 4
First Look at NML’s New Skyscraper
The stunning, curved glass design for the 32-floor tower is by Pickard Chilton of New Haven,
Connecticut.
By Dave Reid - Sep 25th, 2013 09:22 am
NML Skyscraper Rendering.
UPDATE: Additional renderings were added to the story at 12:10 pm.
Plans for Northwestern Mutual Life’s $450 million, 32-story, 1.1 million square-foot office
tower were revealed by the company today and additional details will follow at a ceremony
to be held at the company’s headquarters this morning. As promised, the new NML
skyscraper will be the largest building under one roof in Wisconsin.
The curved glassy design by Pickard Chilton of New Haven, Connecticut, shows the tower
portion of the structure pushed to the eastern edge of the site helping, it to be the “iconic
statement about Northwestern Mutual,” that NML CEO John E. Schlifske promised at
theinitial project announcement. A three-story section running along Mason St. will house a
visitors center as well as a publicly-accessible restaurant with an outdoor cafe dining area.

15. UrbanMilwaukee.com
September 25, 2013
Page 2 of 4
“This significant investment in our downtown is a great step in the right direction toward
bringing more job opportunities to the city – more specifically 1,900 jobs by 2030,”
Common Council President Willie Hines said in a press release. NML has pledged to pay
100 percent prevailing wages, meet the city’s 40 percent residential preference program,
and meet a 25 percent emerging business enterprises goal.
F I N A N C I N G
A City of Milwaukee tax increment district, TID 78, will fund an annual payment to
Northwestern Mutual for up to 25 years. The total payment will be equal to 70 percent of
any new property taxes and capped at $54 million. The funds will be used to demolish an
existing office building on the NML campus and help cover the difference in cost between
building in an urban environment versus building a similar sized project on a suburban
greenfield. During the January 17th meeting of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of
Milwaukee, which approved the TID boundaries, Jim Scheer, of the Department of the
City Development, explained that unlike many TIDs in the city this project will be developer
financed, meaning ”we [the city] don’t borrow,” and “we don’t take the risk.”
An additional, $19.3 million from the TID will be used to construct public infrastructure as
part of the Lakefront Gateway Project, help pay for a workforce development program, and
administrative costs.
T I M E L I N E
 In January the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee unanimously, and
with no opposition, approved the boundaries and plan for the tax incremental
districtthat will supply funding for portion of the project.
 In April the Common Council approved Tax Incremental District 78 to help fund the
project and associated infrastructure projects. Mayor Tom Barrett signed off on the
TID shortly thereafter.
 Demolition of NML’s existing 16-story, 451,000 square-foot building on the site will
begin within the next two months.
 Construction should start in the middle of 2014.
 The new skyscraper should be completed in 2017.

16. UrbanMilwaukee.com
September 25, 2013
Page 3 of 4

17. Fox6Now.com
September 25, 2013
Page 1 of 2
Northwestern Mutual unveils design of its new
office tower
Posted on: 2:40 pm, September 25, 2013, by Laura Langemo, updated on: 03:49pm, September 25, 2013
MILWAUKEE (WITI) — It stands 32 stories high with over one million square feet of space.
Within months, Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons will begin making its mark in Milwaukee.
“It’s a strong statement about the vitality of Milwaukee, it’s a strong statement about the vitality of the economy, and
it’s a strong statement about their commitment both to their employees and to the community,” says Milwaukee
Mayor Tom Barrett.
Due to ongoing maintenance costs, the company will tear down its current east building on the corner of Cass and
Mason to build the new structure.
And a project like this means jobs.
It will employ nearly 1,000 construction workers along with creating many new permanent jobs.
Proposed Northwestern Mutual office tower
“Over the next decade after the building is constructed we’re going to add another 1,900 jobs on top of the 1,100
we’re keeping so that’s a total of 3,000 jobs,” says
Northwestern Mutual Chairman, President, and CEO John Schlifske.
The addition of Northwestern Mutual Tower will also change Milwaukee’s skyline.
“It’s a very welcoming construction. It sort of looks like a beacon on the lakefront sort of attracting people in,” says
Schlifske.
The architects maximized the use of glass with the building to let in as much natural light as possible.
There are also areas on the grounds open to the public.
“That includes three acres of public green space, gardens, trees and water but it’s going to be inviting and we really
want the community to be able to come in and experience the garden,” says Schlifske.
City officials say this shows that downtown Milwaukee is still a great place to live, work, and play.
Demolition of the current building will begin at the end of this year or the beginning of 2014.
Northwestern Mutual plans to move employees into the new building in 2017.

18. New Northwestern Mutual tower to be
completed by 2017
B Y C H R I S P A T T E R S O N
Story Created: Sep 25, 2013
Story Updated: Sep 25, 2013
MILWAUKEE -- Northwestern Mutual unveiled the design for its new office tower along Milwaukee's
lakefront. Starting early next year, the east tower on the Northwestern Mutual Campus will come
down to make room for the brand new tower.
Northwestern Mutual will build a 32 story, 550 ft. tall tower and commons area. Construction should
start in 2015, and be complete by 2017. We're told the company plans to preserve the large park
space along Wisconsin Ave.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett explains the new building means potentially thousands of new jobs
and a boost to the city's tax base.

19. Business Journal of Milwaukee
September 25, 2013
Page 1 of 3
Sep 25, 2013,
Q&A with Northwestern Mutual CEO John Schlifske on
Milwaukee tower
Northwestern Mutual CEO John Schlifskesaid the
company’s planned 32-story downtown office is
meant to convey a commitment to Milwaukee.
Company executives chose Milwaukee, versus the
campus in Franklin, for the new building partially
because it is a better location to attract the 1,900
employees Northwestern plans to hire by 2030, he
said.
The new 550-foot-tall office, planned at 800 E.
Wisconsin Ave., will have 1.1 million square feet of
office space and a three-story base with a cafe,
outdoor seating and other areas to invite walk-ins. The plans include a three-acre park between East
Mason Street and East Wisconsin Avenue that will include a lawn with enough space to host public events
for up to 800 people and a fountain system that could run year-round.
After the unveiling of the design Wednesday morning, Schlifske talked with The Business Journal. Here
are some of his comments:
Q: How long have you been working on the design?
A: "We started late last year, toward the end of 2012, fleshing out what we wanted, what we hoped to be in
this building, really how this commons would be designed, not architecturally, but what we wanted to see
in the commons. So it has been almost a year-long process."
Q: What more can you tell us about the public space that will be on the lower levels and on
the top floor?
A: "In terms of the lower levels, there are two aspects of the public space that probably need highlighting.
The first is we really wanted to create a park-like area where people from the city — both employees and
visitors, civic friends — can come and enjoy just one of the most beautiful spots in Wisconsin. So we

20. Business Journal of Milwaukee
September 25, 2013
Page 2 of 3
wanted to make it a little more inviting, a little bit more approachable where people can feel like they can
just walk into it without crossing some sort of a public-private line, so more like a park.
"Then in the building itself, we wanted to have some physical space — because you know what our climate
is like — where when it’s winter, when it’s cold, people can come in, have a cup of coffee, meet somebody
over the morning paper and really have a chance to socialize in our space and see what it is, much like a
commercial office building can offer. We really wanted to have public space and really invite the public in
to Northwestern Mutual.
"Then on the top floor from day one I’ve been adamant that that is going to be a conference area there so
we can have business meetings there, we can have people from outside of the community there. It will be
the best views in the city and we want to show them off."
Q: How does the building reinforce the point of the stability of the company and the
commitment to Milwaukee?
A: "When we decided we had to tear down the east building because it had some structural issues, we
spent a lot of time wrestling with should we build something new or should we begin a more accelerated
shift of employees either to Franklin, or outside of Milwaukee, or whatever.
"We really believe that Milwaukee is a great place to have our company based. We have a great work force.
We have the best employees in the industry. We are one of the world’s most admired insurance companies
and it is because of our employee base. So the ability to create a permanent structure here that will help us
retain our existing work force, but attract the next generation and the next generation, was really
important to us.
"So that was really the guiding principle in this whole thing. It wasn’t just to rebuild office space, but it
was to create a facility that would enhance our already unbelievable work force."
Q: Will this be occupied solely by Northwestern Mutual?
A: "It will be all Northwestern Mutual."
Q: How do you fit in with the other private buildings that are going up around the
lakefront?
A: "I think it’s going to be a great collaboration. I think what’s going on with some of the office buildings
on the lower end of Michigan Avenue and the development that has been proposed there, I think it will
just continue this momentum that this east end of downtown is enjoying right now and even bring more
and more people into it.
"I think it will be very complementary. I don’t think there’s anything about any of these projects that is at
odds with one another. I think they will build upon each other."
Q: Any other thoughts about the next steps forward for the company after this?
A: "From my perspective now we have the hard part, which is building it (and) the execution of this vision.
But I know we’re going to do that well. I can’t wait until 2017 gets here and it will be a great period for the
company."

21. Business Journal of Milwaukee
September 25, 2013
Page 1 of 2
Sep 25, 2013
UPDATED: Northwestern Mutual unveils design
for new downtown office tower
Northwestern Mutual Wednesday released the first
images of its planned 32-story downtown
Milwaukee office tower, which is expected to cost
$450 million.
The 1.1-million-square-foot building will replace
Northwestern Mutual's office at 800 E. Wisconsin
Ave. on Milwaukee’s lakefront, which must be
demolished due to structural problems. The new
building will provide space for 1,100 employees
who work on the existing office, plus another 1,900
employees who could be added by 2030.
“We wanted to create a beautiful complement to the Milwaukee skyline from the start, but this is first
of all a workplace that has to meet the practical needs of our business,” said CEO John Schlifske.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create greater efficiency and more employee
collaboration, as well as additional energy and excitement for the community.”
Demolition of the existing Northwestern Mutual office is expected to begin in December, making
room for a new building to be complete in the second half of 2017.
The building design includes a three-story Commons that will stretch along the south side of East
Mason Street. The commons will have public space with a visitors center, cafe and outdoor dining.
There will be 3 acres of park land with a "water feature" around the building.
The company has been working on the design since earlier this year when it hired Connecticut-based
architect Pickard Chilton and principal Jon Pickard to design it.

22. Business Journal of Milwaukee
September 25, 2013
Page 2 of 2
Milwaukee officials in April approved a $73.3 million tax incremental financing package for the
development. It includes $54 million for Northwestern Mutual, meant to partially offset the higher
cost of building downtown instead of at the company’s Franklin campus.
The city also will dedicate $18 million in new property taxes generated by the building to rebuild and
improve roads along the Milwaukee lakefront.
It adds jobs, connections with our lakefront, and a new public space,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “It is
a declaration by Northwestern Mutual that Milwaukee is the place this company wants to grow.”
Watch The Business Journal for more coverage and imagery of the Northwestern Mutual building
later in the day.

23. Business Journal of Milwaukee
September 25, 2013
Page 1 of 2
Sep 25, 2013, 1:34pm CDT
Northwestern Mutual tapping nearly 50 local
firms for $450M project
Northwestern Mutual has recruited 13 local
companies to help with the design and
engineering of its downtown tower, and 36 more
to demolish a building to clear land for the
development.
Some of the designers, including architectsMatt
Rinka and Norman Barrientos, andJohn
Kissinger, chief executive officer of Graef-USA
Inc., attended Wednesday’s reveal of the tower
design. Local companies hired for the demolition
include CG Schmidt, J.F. Ahern Co., Johnson
Controls Inc. and Rockwell Automation.
The three dozen companies will work on demolition of an existing Northwestern Mutual office
building on East Wisconsin Avenue to clear land for the 32-story tower, according to the company.
Demolition is expected to begin in December and take about one year.
Northwestern tapped Connecticut-based architect Pickard Chilton to lead the new tower's design,
but committed to hire local and minority-owned companies for the early stages of the project,
said Tim Gerend, Northwestern Mutual vice president and project manager.
“These initial hires for prep and architecture and engineering are the first of dozens of local
companies we expect will be closely involved in some part of the project as we move towards
completion in 2017,” Gerend said.

24. Business Journal of Milwaukee
September 25, 2013
Page 2 of 2
Under an agreement to get financial support from the city of Milwaukee, Northwestern will award 25
percent of the construction contract dollars to small and women-owned builders. It is expected that
Milwaukee residents will work 40 percent of the hours spent building the $450 million tower.
Northwestern Mutual has hired Prism Technical Management & Marketing Services LLC,
Milwaukee, to lead the local hiring and contracting efforts, Gerend said
“We wanted to make sure we got local and minority firms involved not just on the construction, but
at the front end,” he said.
One of those minority-owned firms is Barrientos Design & Consulting, Milwaukee. The company will
design a new skywalk over North Van Buren Street that will connect Northwestern’s main campus to
an office it recently renovated for $25 million, said presidentNorman Barrientos.
“They issued the (request for proposals), and we responded and we were successful,” he said.
Rinka Chung Architecture Inc. was recently hired for the project. Principal Matt Rinka said his firm
is supporting some of the interior architectural work and planning to link the existing parking
structure that is across East Mason Street from the planned new tower.
Rinka Chung designed the planned 44-story Couture, which is planned to replace the Downtown
Transit Center south of Northwestern Mutual’s tower.
Other local companies Northwestern Mutual hired are American Design Inc., Continuum Architects
and Planners, Dakota Intertek Corp., Fusion Integrated Solutions LLC, Giles Engineering, IBC
Engineering Services Inc., Quorum Architects, Roeper PA & Associates and ZS LLC.

25. Business Journal of Milwaukee
September 25, 2013
Page 1 of 2
Sep 25, 2013, 2:32pm CDT
Northwestern Mutual tower designer describes
links to Art Museum
Northwestern Mutual’s new tower is intended to be a
new landmark, and its design interacts with
the Milwaukee Art Museum, the city’s current
architectural flagship, in two subtle ways, according
to designer Jon Pickard.
They are two different animals, with Northwestern
Mutual’s building planned to stand 30 stories taller
than Santiago Calatrava’s design for the Milwaukee
Art Museum pavilion, Pickard said. However both have nautical elements, he said.
“One of the gentlemen earlier referred to it as a ship or a sail, and I think that’s a fair interpretation,”
he said of the Northwestern design. “So in that respect, there’s a similarity because they are each
dealing with the lake.”
The comparisons to a sail stem from the curve at the Northwestern Mutual building’s south span,
which comes to a point similar to a boat prow at its eastern tip. That’s not just for show, Pickard said.
The design allows a 60-foot-width on the office floors as they move from east to west along the
building span, which is unusually wide, he said.
“If you go to Chicago, almost any high-rise office building will give you about 40 feet,” Pickard said.
“So we think this office building will be extremely unique, and frankly, it reflects who they are as a
culture. It’s refined. It’s elegant. It’s understated.”
The curve also maximizes the land around the building available for a park, Pickard said.

26. Business Journal of Milwaukee
September 25, 2013
Page 2 of 2
Pickard said that park is “as important as the actual building.”
That park provides the second link between Northwestern Mutual and the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Northwestern Mutual plans a pedestrian path that would wind through its park, cross East
Wisconsin Avenue and carry people to O’Donnell Park, where they can access a bridge to the
museum or the remainder of the lakefront.
Milwaukee Art Museum director Dan Keegan lauded that feature Wednesday morning.
Pickard said the plan is not final, but discussions are underway with the city to create a signalized
pedestrian walkway across East Wisconsin Avenue. A new signal would stop cars for pedestrians
crossing from Northwestern Mutual’s park to the so-called sunburst sculpture, a work called “The
Calling,” that sits atop the O’Donnell Park parking structure.
“Right now, if you want to cross Wisconsin, you take your life in your hands,” he said. “What we’re
doing is a very gracious pedestrian path with a series of stop lights and flashing LED lights so literally
cars are going to stop.”

27. Business Journal of Milwaukee
September 25, 2013
Page 1 of 2
Sep 25, 2013, 5:11pm CDT
Not tallest, but maybe best? Downtown players
react to Northwestern Mutual design
Northwestern Mutual’s new tower drew a broad
scope of one-liners from a crowd of Milwaukee
downtown power players who got their first look
at the design Wednesday morning.
“It’s not the tallest, but it can be the best,”
said Julia Taylor, Greater Milwaukee Committee
president, referring to Northwestern’s 32-story
tower coming about 50 feet short of the nearby
U.S. Bank Center’s height.
“I’m not sure how I feel about four years,”Beth Weirick, Milwaukee Downtown executive director,
said of the late 2017 opening date. “I wish it could go up overnight.”
“I hope I live long enough to see all of this happening,” said Michael Cudahy, philanthropist behind
Discovery World At Pier Wisconsin at the Milwaukee lakefront. “Twenty years from now, you won’t
recognize (the lakefront).”
Northwestern Mutual on Wednesday unveiled plans for its new building at 800 E. Wisconsin Avenue
at Milwaukee’s lakefront. The design is by Connecticut-based architecture firm Pickard Chilton.
Architect Matt Rinka, whose firm will work on the $450 million Northwestern project, said the
design is a “modern building that makes very classical statements.” Although made of sleek glass and

28. Business Journal of Milwaukee
September 25, 2013
Page 2 of 2
steel, it sticks to values of urban design stretching back to Medieval times, such as adhering to the
street grid and promoting public spaces, he said.
Cudahy and Dan Keegan, Milwaukee Art Museum director, said the building will better connect the
downtown to the lakefront. Keegan praised the walkway through Northwestern Mutual’s 3-acre park
that crosses East Wisconsin Avenue and leads toward the lakefront.
Cudahy added that the design sets a high bar for future projects at the lakefront. It could set the
market for any company seeking to buy and build on 3 acres that will open up for development on
East Clybourn Street after the Lake Interchange is rebuilt with a new ramp configuration, he said.

29. 620WTMJ.com
September 25, 2013
Downtown Milwaukee skyscraper unveiled
By Jaclyn Brandt and Jonah Kaplan
CREATED 12:46 PM
MILWAUKEE - The skyline of Milwaukee is about to get a facelift. Wednesday morning, Northwestern
Mutual unveiled plans for a new downtown skyscraper.
The building that is getting a makeover was built in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, and stands 16 stories
high. The new tower is double the size.
Chairman John Schlifske hopes Northwestern Mutual's next tower stands on three ideals: reflect the
company's stature, show commitment to Milwaukee, and further beautify the lakefront.
"To conceive, design, and construct an architectural on a site among the most beautiful in the country -
that's something we'll be proud of," Schlifske explained.
The tower will rise more than 500 feet, with its surrounding areas spanning one million square feet. It may
one day hold up to 3,000 employees.
The nearly-$500 million project also earned some tax breaks from the city, but leaders call it an invaluable
investment.
"It's a big tax base for the city,” Schlifske added. “Employees come to entertainment, restaurants and buy
condominiums in downtown Milwaukee."
Before the new tower goes up, the old one must come down. Demolition starts in December, and
construction will begin next year. The tower is expected to be completed in 2017.

30. DailyReporter.com
September 25, 2013
Page 1 of 2
*Article also appeared in print on September 26, 2013
Northwestern Mutual reveals tower design
Published: September 25, 2013
Tags: John Schlifske, Northwestern Mutual, Northwestern Mutual Insurance, TIF, Tom Barrett
John Pickard, principal of Pickard Chilton, the project’s design architect, shows off the new Northwestern Mutual campus
proposed for downtown Milwaukee on Wednesday. (Staff photo by Molly Willms)
By Molly Willms
Designs for the new Northwestern Mutual Tower, Commons and Gardens in downtown Milwaukee were
unveiled Wednesday.
Construction on the 1.1 million-square-foot, 32-story building will begin in late 2014 or early 2015 and
employ about 1,000 workers, said John Schlifske, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.’s chairman,
president and CEO.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said the new building will “dramatically change downtown Milwaukee.”
The new designs show curved glass panels on a tower facing Lake Michigan. The top floor of the building,
which will replace the 16-story East Building on North Cass and East Mason streets, will be conference
space, and the company will host public events there.

31. DailyReporter.com
September 25, 2013
Page 2 of 2
“We really want that space to be for everybody,” Schlifske said.
The three-story Northwestern Commons building, which will include a café, open dining area and a
visitor center, will be attached to the tower. Nearby, about three acres of green space will make up the
public Northwestern Gardens, which will have trees, walkways and benches.
The new buildings are set to open in 2017.
Demolition of the East Building will begin early next year,
Schlifske said.
According to a news release from Northwestern, 25 percent
of the design and construction money will go to small,
emerging and women-owned businesses, and 40 percent of
the labor hours on the construction site will go to Milwaukee
residents. So far, more than 36 local companies have
received contracts for the project, and nearly one-third of
those are small, minority-owned or women-owned
businesses, according to the release.
Building the new tower downtown will keep 1,100 jobs in
Milwaukee, Schlifske said, and create an additional 1,900.
Part of the money for the project depends on Northwestern
meeting its job projections.
Milwaukee will partially reimburse Northwestern for the
$450 million project through a tax increment financing
agreement. TIFs let municipalities direct taxes earned on
added property value toward bond payments for site
improvements.
Because Northwestern is paying for the project upfront, the city will give the company a 70 percent tax
rebate for 25 years or until Northwestern recoups $54 million. The rebate applies only to tax payments
made on an increase in the property value above $33 million. So, for instance, if the value increases to
$35 million, the rebate applies to payments on the $2 million difference.
The project term sheet between the city and Northwestern stipulates that the company must create
1,730 full-time-equivalent positions in Milwaukee by 2030. If the company does not create those jobs
and maintain the existing 3,645 jobs already in Milwaukee, Northwestern will not be eligible for the full
$54 million in rebates.

32. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
September 26, 2013
Page 1 of 2

33. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
September 26, 2013
Page 2 of 2

35. Northwestern Mutual Unveils New Office Tower
and Public Space
NML officials are excited about plans for a new high rise office tower that will anchor the east end of the
company's downtown Milwaukee campus.
We now have a good idea of how the Milwaukee skyline will look in about four years.
Northwestern Mutual has unveiled a new office tower it plans to build downtown. It'll be located on East
Wisconsin Avenue, next to the company's 100-year old headquarters.
Jon Pickard's company designed the 32 story tower. It's primary feature is glass.
"What our goal is, when employees come here, when you come here to have a cup of coffee in the
cafe, that you feel a sense of pride in your community. It's not just about Northwestern Mutual; it's about
being a citizen of Milwaukee," Pickard said.
The new complex will offer to the public green space, a visitor center and dining.
NML Chairman, President and CEO John Schlifske says the new tower will hold 1,100 existing employees
and allow the company to hire 1,900 more.
"Then we expect that it will generate millions of dollars in new tax revenue as the tax base of the city goes
up. And, it'll probably include about a thousand construction jobs just in the process of demolishing the
old building and putting up the new building," Schlifske said.
Demolition will begin in December and new construction should begin next fall and take three years.
The project hinges on a partnership with the City of Milwaukee. For example, Milwaukee will let the
company keep some of the new tax revenue it hopes to generate. Northwestern Mutual has agreed to hire
Milwaukee residents to help with construction.

36. Q&A: Architecture with ‘Midwestern pragmatism’
Sept. 27, 2013
“I‟ll tell you, what is more important than height is beauty,‟ says Jon Pickard of architectural firm Pickard Chilton.
Jon Pickard, 58, is a co-founding principal of the architectural firm Pickard Chilton. This week Pickard Chilton
released its design for a 32-story Milwaukee tower to be owned and occupied by Northwestern Mutual and
developed by Hines. It would be the city‟s tallest office tower to be constructed in more than 20 years.
Pickard Chilton also designed the recently completed Devon Energy Center in Oklahoma City. Prior to founding
Pickard Chilton, Mr. Pickard was a design collaborator with Cesar Pelli on the 1,483-feet-tall Petronas Towers in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (This interview has been edited for clarity and length.)
WSJ: How did your Midwestern roots inform how you approached the design of the Milwaukee tower?
Mr. Pickard: I grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. I don‟t want to be hokey here but there is a kind of Midwestern
pragmatism that I understand and which is part of Northwestern Mutual. They‟re going to do things that make sense.
That resonated with me.
WSJ: Your 550-foot tall design is nearly as high as the tallest building in Milwaukee, which remains the 601-foot U.S.
Bank Center, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Was it tempting to go a little higher to
make it the tallest?
Mr. Pickard: No it wasn‟t. We‟ve done that. I‟ll tell you, what is more important than height is beauty. Beauty is
eternal. You might be the tallest today but in 50 years someone will come along and build another tower that is taller.
Thankfully that [focus on height] is disappearing from American business…In the 1980s…buildings were not about
enhancing the workplace experience. [They] had more to do with enhancing the egos of the leaders…The days of
slathering on lots of granite and marble to make it more precious are disappearing. You‟re seeing buildings that are
more responsive to employee needs.
WSJ: Can you talk about some of the details of the tower‟s design?
Mr. Pickard: It is conceived as a curve that embraces the sun, garden and views of the lake. The glass façade has a
series of vertical aluminum ribbons. What we‟ve done is to say every employee deserves the view. It doesn‟t go to
the big shot in the corner. We are not putting private offices along the perimeter. There will dramatic picture windows
and as one walks through, employees can really embrace the views of Lake Michigan…The glass will…look to most
people to be clear but it will have subtle reflectivity…I would argue that buildings with highly reflective glass are
almost soulless. Our attitude is to try to encourage as much transparency as you can. In the garden areas there is
clear glass so people can see in. We think it makes for better buildings and better communities.
WSJ: This is the first new office tower in many years. Will skyline watchers see anything new that wasn‟t possible
decades ago?
Mr. Pickard: From the outside there‟s not a radical transformation. The key to this building versus 20 years ago is the
inside and its access to the view, access to the light.
WSJ: Do you agree with people who say you need super-tall buildings in order to compete as a world-class city?
Mr. Pickard: I don‟t think there‟s anything inherently wrong with super-tall buildings. I‟ve certainly designed plenty of
them. But every time you go taller the construction costs go up incrementally and you have to decide why you are
going tall and what the point is. In New York if land is limited that makes sense. In other areas it doesn‟t.

37. JSOnline.com
September 27, 2013
Page 1 of 4
*Article also appeared in print on September 29, 2013
Understated Milwaukee: The Northwestern
Mutual tower and Bucks floor
By Mary Louise Schumacher of the Journal Sentinel
Sept. 27, 2013
The NBA and the world of architecture have more in common than exceedingly tall celebrity players —
testosterone and a penchant for the gaudy, for instance.
We’ve come to expect a certain over the top-ness from professional basketball, from the in-your-face
logos, fluorescent shoes, deafening games and showboating, thunder-dunking players.
When it comes to architecture, we bow to the big and loud, too. Like the latest death-defying amusement
park rides, it’s the architecture with record-breaking altitudes and expressive, look-at-me looks that so
often get the headlines.

38. JSOnline.com
September 27, 2013
Page 2 of 4
It takes guts to be understated, to be good without flaunting it.
That’s what we got from the Milwaukee
Bucks and Northwestern Mutual in a back-
to-back reveal of designs on Tuesday and
Wednesday. Neither of the projects — a
new, art-inspired basketball court and a
glassy, 32-story lakefront tower — are mere
shiny objects.
These projects will become part of
Milwaukee's image worldwide, one a new
floor that will be seen on TV screens in
hundreds of countries, the other a skyline-
altering tower.
Let’s start with Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.’s project, the largest office tower to be built in
Milwaukee in 40 years, situated at one of the more dominant and skyline-defining sites in the city.
The $450 million project is the most significant architectural event to take place in Milwaukee in a
generation, excepting Santiago Calatrava’s Milwaukee Art Museum, so the designs have been highly
anticipated since the insurance company announced its plans in December.
I confess, I was unimpressed when I first laid eyes on them Wednesday morning. The gently bowed
southern elevation, which echoes the bend of the eastern end of Wisconsin Ave., was nice enough. But
that elegant, abstract shape and the building’s bigness seemed to be its most distinguishing
characteristics.
I wondered if “The Quiet Company” was being too reticent, dull even. Was something more inventive
called for on such a prominent spot?
Then, as I started to look more deeply at what is a very complex project, I realized there are some
exquisite and refined ideas here. The tower, for instance, transforms utterly from various perspectives. A
gently stepped exterior surfaces from the calm and lucid roundedness of the southern side at close
range, and that gives way to a trim, angular elevation that comes to a translucent point when viewed
from the east.

39. JSOnline.com
September 27, 2013
Page 3 of 4
Heights and surfaces vary and overlap in intricate ways from certain vantage points, too. In a single
building and in a condensed way, we get the
kind of play of modernism you’d expect in
big cities where there’s an aesthetic
exchange among abutting skyscrapers.
Pickard has kept a lot of open and airy space
near the edges of the tower's interior,
including open, loft-like spaces for
collaboration among employees. This is
especially true along the southern edge,
where, from what I can tell, the curtain glass
may look like a delicate shell set apart from
the mass of the building.
At street level, things get really interesting.
The three-story commons, as the insurance
giant is calling it, will connect the new tower
to the historic, neoclassical headquarters.
From Wisconsin Ave., what looks like a string
of boxy buildings will sit like a scrim behind
an outdoor park.
One of the most provocative elements of
Northwestern Mutual’s design is what
happens to this commons on Mason St.,
where the structure occupies two strong
blocks. Part of it envelops a stretch of Cass
St. into a sheer box that appears to float above the street, an intriguing alternative to a sky bridge. The
architect, Jon Pickard, of the New Haven, Conn.-based architectural firm Pickard Chilton, likened the 1.1
million-square-foot project to a small city, and this will be really felt here.
Even more gutsy and potentially controversial is the way this structure slips in front of the 1914
headquarters on Mason St., extending that historic structure’s atrium forward into a modernist cube. In
general, I love a good wedding of old and new architecture, which is tricky and generally not attempted
in Milwaukee. It’s unclear to me to what extent this particular marriage will work and how much of the
august architectural predecessor will be obscured from view. I’d like to see more detailed designs.
So, no, the Northwestern Mutual project has no hair-raising qualities. Thrill-seeking architecture lovers
may be disappointed by this, but, in truth, a risky, attention-nabbing design would never have suited a
company that is, by definition, risk averse. And it wouldn’t have played well, particularly given its
voluminous size, with Santiago Calatrava’s postmodern, winged museum and Eero Saarinen’s sobering
War Memorial either.
The visual impact of this tower may turn out to be in its secondary effects, the refinements that sneak up
on you. There is much more to say -- and learn -- about this complex design still. There will be time for
that. These are some of my first impressions.

40. JSOnline.com
September 27, 2013
Page 4 of 4
Now, for that floor.
Fittingly, the Bucks revealed their
floor at the Milwaukee Art Museum
Tuesday night.
The new floor is inspired by Pop
artist Robert Indiana’s much-
beloved 1977 floor, an attempt to
invoke the heydey heyday-era team
that who played on the beloved
MECCA floor, where the team
enjoyed nine straight years of
playoff appearances.
The design reprises the giant M's that flanked the midcourt line of Indiana’s court, running flush from end
line to end line, sideline to sideline. The original M's were subtle in Indiana’s glowing yellow, and will be
even more so now. They’re defined in a deeper shade of hand-stained northern Wisconsin maple for a
subtler effect.
Several people, including one of the Bucks I talked to, didn’t immediately see the M's after the curtain
was pulled and the new design revealed at the unveiling. That’s how subtle the gesture is. This is in part
because the NBA scrutinized the idea and was balking at the idea of a largely painted surface.
What I love about the design is the way the Bucks, with a sort of humility you don't expect from an NBA
team, reined in so many of the team’s own visual elements to allow the Indiana homage to pop. This was
especially noticeable in the logo at center court, which is stripped to the stark essentials. The eight-point,
whitetail deer is, as Larry Sanders called it, is "fierce."
Gone is the bold triangle of red and the stylized “Bucks” lettering. And the color on the court is almost
exclusively a deep hunter green.
I had to ask myself: Is this a watered down rip-off of what Robert Indiana created for Milwaukee,
fashioned this time around by a team of corporate designers? Or, is it a fitting homage to the Pop artist
known for his "LOVE" artwork and some truly great years of hoops?
It's pretty close to out of bounds,
but I think the resolute, earnest and
deferential treatment of the original
counts for a lot.
The result is tough, modern and
understated.
Still, it must be said that the best
homage to the 1977 floor would
have been to commission an original
design by an artist. And, while I like
the idea of having a small panel in
the court’s apron occupied by a

41. JSOnline.com
September 27, 2013
Page 5 of 4
rotating roster of Milwaukee artists, the symbolism is hard to miss: Local art is stuck in the corner. Cue
the Patrick Swayze line.
A proposal by Milwaukee artist Reginald Baylor was pitched to the Bucks by the Our Mecca group, the
organization that is the caretaker of the original MECCA floor. They served as a consultant on the current
floor project. While the Bucks loved Baylor's design, with his signature square basketballs placed inside
the three-point line and the antlers of the buck at center court, the team's officials decided it'd be too
radical to take to the NBA, which signs off on floor designs. Scrutiny is much higher now than it was in
1977, and the deadline for the new floor was looming, they say.
I have no doubt that this is true, and I think the compromise position is a pretty nice one.
There is no question in my mind that Baylor, the most obvious local heir to Indiana’s Pop sensibility and
an artist who's been working with basketball-related iconography for years, would have been an obvious
choice for a new floor had their been more time to work with him to achieve a design that would get by
the NBA. (
So, why not give him or another artist the NBA's constraints and some time now for the next floor? One
of the ingenious things Baylor came up with to satisfy the NBA's desire for wood grain was to create a
background that was painted wood grain. As the idea of a new arena gets bandied about, why not get a
conversation about the next floor started now?

42. JSOnline.com
September 29, 2013
Page 1 of 3
*Article also appeared in print on September 30, 2013
OUR VIEW | ON, WISCONSIN
NML tower brightens city skyline and city's future
Northwestern Mutual
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. has unveiled designs for its glassy, 32-
story office tower that it says will reshape Milwaukee’s skyline.
When Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. unveiled the plans for its new office tower in downtown
Milwaukee, Mayor Tom Barrett had this to say:
"Northwestern Mutual is making a statement that it believes in itself and its future in the city."
And, we'd add, the future of the city.
NML could easily have gone elsewhere if it did not believe in Milwaukee.
And we think the credit for that should go largely to two men: Barrett and NML's chief executive John
E. Schlifske.
The mayor led a push at city hall to make sure that the 32-story tower was built downtown and that
those jobs stayed put. His administration came up with a creative way to help NML stay downtown
through the use of a privately financed tax incremental financing district.
Had NML decided to move, 1,000 jobs could have left downtown; instead, the development should not
only keep those jobs in place, the tower could perhaps add another 1,900 jobs by 2030, the company
estimates. The new jobs would have an average salary of about $60,000, the company has said.
"That swing of about 3,000 jobs is huge," Barrett. said.

43. JSOnline.com
September 29, 2013
Page 2 of 3
Schlifske, a native of the area, deserves a ton of credit for his commitment to the city and for deciding
on a classic design that "will reshape Milwaukee's skyline."
Schlifske is putting a real stake in the ground — and what a stake it is.
Combined with developer Rick Barrett's proposed Couture project a few blocks away on the lakefront,
the proposed revamping of streets and freeway ramps at the lakefront and the potential for opening
new land for both green space and development, this is a golden opportunity for Milwaukee.
Reshaping the lakefront and nearby downtown could make the area a destination as well as enhance
the natural beauty of the area. Officials should make sure they're doing all the right things — and
thinking big — to get the best use out of one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in the state. At
the same time, the public's access to a natural wonder — and the natural beauty of that wonder —
needs to be maintained.
Doing both could be tricky. But NML's new office tower is an example of how to do it right.
•••
Nor is downtown the only place the city is getting things right: Another lovely addition to Milwaukee
officially arrived Saturday with the opening of the city's newest park: the 40-acre Milwaukee Rotary
Centennial Arboretum along the Milwaukee River at 1500 E. Park Place near Riverside University High
School. The park was made possible thanks to a generous donation of $400,000 from the Rotary
Club of Milwaukee, which selected the project to commemorate its 100th anniversary.
A long list of others deserve credit, too, including the late Pieter Godfrey, an architect and historic
preservationist who had the vision for the project and donated 4.5 acres valued at $1.9 million to
make it happen. And, of course, there were the many contributions of Ken Leinbach, executive
director of the nearby Urban Ecology Center, and his team.
Visitors will be able to enjoy a dozen ecological communities, including an oak savanna (once
widespread in southern Wisconsin); four miles of trails; a canoe launch; and a newly constructed
wooden bridge crossing the Oak Leaf Trail links the parkland next to Riverside to the new park.
The park fits perfectly into the growing demand for more open public space in urban centers and more
opportunity for activities in such spaces. Visit it soon.
•••
You can argue that it's not enough; you can argue that it's coming late. But the fact is that Milwaukee
County and the state are ramping up efforts to improve care for those with mental illnesses in the
wake of several Journal Sentinel investigations.
Last week, Milwaukee County Chris Abele pledged millions in the 2014 budget more to provide a
better community-based model for mental health care and to improve safety at the Mental Health
Complex.
And on Wednesday, a legislative task force made a series of recommendations that if adopted also
should improve care. Among the recommendations was one proposed by state Rep.Sandy Pasch (D-
Shorewood): Giving mental health professionals in Milwaukee County — not just police officers — the
authority to send people into emergency detentions and creating a way for families and other
interested parties to request that counties begin an emergency detention and petition a judge to
require the detention if the county does not act.
There are numerous other recommendations, all of which deserve serious consideration by the
Legislature.

44. Business Journal of Milwaukee
October 4, 2013
Page 1 of 4

45. Business Journal of Milwaukee
October 4, 2013
Page 2 of 4
Elevating the economy: Northwestern Mutual
committed to local work
A R E A C O N S T R U C T I O N A N D D E S I G N F I R M S W I L L G E T A M U C H - N E E D E D
B O O S T A S N O R T H W E S T E R N M U T U A L ’ S $ 4 5 0 M I L L I O N T O W E R I S A D D E D
T O M I L W A U K E E ’ S S K Y L I N E .
Northwestern Mutual’s $450 million
construction project in downtown Milwaukee
started in spring, with the first phase led by a
local builder, rather than a large national
company.
Having Milwaukee-based C.G. Schmidt Inc.
lead the first of four major construction phases
is a solid start for local builders who expect
competition from out-of-state contractors on
the huge Northwestern project. Slated for
completion in the second half of 2017, the
project includes demolition of one building,
major utility work and construction of a 32-
story tower, all of which will create 1,000
construction jobs.
Local builders, particularly small, minority-owned companies looking for a shot at growth, thus far
say Northwestern Mutual is making a real effort to include them on contracts, putting action behind
the promises of chief executive officer John Schlifske.
“We’ve been a key part of this city for over 150 years and we expect to be a key part of this city for
another 150 years-plus,” Schlifske said Oct. 25 when he unveiled the design for Northwestern’s new
building. “We wanted to make sure that this building reinforced that statement not only in terms of
the architecture — what it would mean — but in terms of jobs to this city and helping expand the
economic base.”

46. Business Journal of Milwaukee
October 4, 2013
Page 3 of 4
C.G. Schmidt’s job on the first phase is to unplug power and communication lines and other utilities
from Northwestern’s east office building, which will be demolished to make way for the new tower.
Schmidt has 35 local companies involved in that work, according to Northwestern Mutual.
Future major phases include the east building’s demolition, which currently is out for bid, relocation
of major underground utilities and construction of the new tower.
The prime contracts to lead those major phases are likely to draw national builders from other
markets to compete with Milwaukee’s crop of big local generals, saidLyle Balistreri, president of the
Milwaukee Building and Construction Trades Council. As with past projects, such as the Wisconsin
Center and Miller Park, the lead contract could go to a joint venture between a local and a national
company, he said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they partnered with some of our local contractors,” Balistreri said. “It’s all
in the air because we do have local firms who could step up and do the whole thing.”
Northwestern is among several major private projects along Milwaukee’s lakefront, including the 44-
story Couture and Irgens’ 833 East office building. Alicia Dupies, director of project development
for Mortenson Construction, said the company is interested in pursuing all of them. Mortenson, with
an office in Brookfield, has locations across the country.
“I would really hope we can maximize the local participation,” she said of the lakefront projects.
“There is the work force and the talent and the construction management savvy in Milwaukee that is
capable of delivering those projects. I’d hate to see it go out of state.”
Thomas D’Arcy, senior managing director of Hines, the Houston-based company Northwestern hired
to lead its office tower development, said he expects national companies to compete as well.
However, he said, Northwestern has committed to having local workers and small businesses
involved as subcontractors to the big builders.
“We’ve worked for a lot of companies across the country and Northwestern Mutual has really
embraced the community engagement,” D’Arcy said. “They understand the importance of this
project to the overall good of the Milwaukee area.”
Northwestern Mutual, through its agreement to receive $54 million in city support, agreed to award
a quarter of its contract dollars to small businesses. It also pledged to have underemployed or
unemployed Milwaukee residents perform 40 percent of hours worked on the project.
Hines is inviting local minority-owned firms to compete for design work in the early phases, said J.T.
Williams, president of American Design Inc., Milwaukee. American Design is among 14 local
consulting firms supporting larger national architects and engineers on the Northwestern project.

47. Business Journal of Milwaukee
October 4, 2013
Page 4 of 4
“They reached out to us,” Williams said. “As much as you know, you still learn a little bit more when
you work on a project of this complexity. Yes, it’s the immediate dollars, but it’s also the learning
curve.”
New Berlin-based Dakota Intertek Corp. is competing for a subcontract on the next major phase of
the project, demolition of the east office building, said Wenbin Yuan, chief executive officer. Yuan
said his firm submitted quotes to Brandenburg Industrial Service Co., a Chicago-based demolition
contractor competing for the east building demolition contract.
Massive projects such as Northwestern’s have reams of contract documents and legal sections 500
pages long, Yuan said. If owners and prime contractors do not help smaller companies, they can be
left behind, he said.
“It’s about the prime contractor’s dedication to hiring minority contractors,” Yuan said.
“(Northwestern Mutual) tried very hard. They started early on. They’re calling people. They’re giving
the real, genuine opportunity for subs.”
Beyond the local companies, there’s the opportunity for Northwestern to create construction jobs for
local workers and put a dent in the city’s unemployment, said Yuan.
“This society is only as good as the lowest-ranked people’s conditions,” he said. “If they improve, the
whole society improves.”
After the recession depleted the construction labor pool, demand from the Northwestern Mutual
project and other major developments is causing local trainers to ramp up efforts. That includes
connecting with Milwaukee congregations, community organizations and high schools, said Earl
Buford, president and chief executive officer of local training organization WRTP/BIG STEP.
“They know there is a lot of work coming and they are trying to get candidates ready,” he said.

48. Business Journal of Milwaukee
October 4, 2013
Page 1 of 2
Schlifske: New building to retain, attract the city’s
next generation
J O H N S C H L I F S K E , C E O O F N O R T H W E S T E R N M U T U A L
Q: Will you use minority contractors in all
phases of the project?
A: “Yes. We’re very committed to making sure that we
use local contractors, people of color and minority-
owned firms and we have programs to make sure that
we do that. We’ve committed to the city of Milwaukee
that we are going to do that, so I can tell you that we
are going to execute on that.”
Q: What are you going to do for parking?
A: “We’ll need to procure parking at some point.
Because we are not moving in until 2017 and because
we have adequate parking now for our employees it’s
not right on the front burner. That’s something we’ll
have to deal with in the future: Where should we
locate additional parking for our employees? But we
haven’t made any decision on that right now.”
Q: How does the building reinforce the point
of the stability of the company and the
commitment to Milwaukee?A: “When we decided
we had to tear down the east building because it had
some structural issues, we spent a lot of time wrestling with should we build something new or
should we begin a more accelerated shift of employees either to Franklin, or outside of Milwaukee, or
whatever.
“We really believe that Milwaukee is a great place to have our company based. We have a great work
force. We have the best employees in the industry. We are one of the world’s most admired insurance
companies and it is because of our employee base. So the ability to create a permanent structure here
that will help us retain our existing work force but attract the next generation, and the next
generation, was really important to us. So that was really the guiding principle in this whole thing. It

49. Business Journal of Milwaukee
October 4, 2013
Page 2 of 2
wasn’t just to rebuild office space, but it was to create a facility that would enhance our already
unbelievable work force.”
Q: Will this be occupied solely by Northwestern Mutual?A: “It will be all Northwestern
Mutual.”
Q: How do you fit in with the other private buildings that are going up around the
lakefront?A: “I think it’s going to be a great collaboration. I think what’s going on with some of the
office buildings on the lower end of Michigan Street and the development that has been proposed
there, I think it will just continue this momentum that this east end of downtown is enjoying right
now and even bring more and more people into it. I think it will be very complementary. I don’t think
there’s anything about any of these projects that is at odds with one another. I think they will build
upon each other.”
Q: Any other thoughts about the next steps forward for the company after this?A: “From
my perspective, now we have the hard part, which is building it, the execution of this vision. But I
know we’re going to do that well. I can’t wait until 2017 gets here, and it will be a great period for the
company.”
Ups & Downs
UP
Northwestern Mutual’s planned $450 million, 32-story downtown Milwaukee office tower will be a welcome
addition to Milwaukee’s skyline. The company unveiled the design of the 1.1 million-square-foot building last
week. It will replace Northwestern Mutual’s office at 800 E. Wisconsin Ave. on Milwaukee’s lakefront, which
must be demolished due to structural problems. The new building will provide space for 1,100 employees
who work in the existing office, plus another 1,900 employees who could be added by 2030.