After being sold, Master Lock site will be auctioned off

By TOM DAYKIN

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Milwaukee‘s former Master Lock complex is to be sold just over a year after it was purchased by a firm that planned to redevelop the 26-acre facility for industrial businesses.

The property, at 2600 N. 32nd St., was purchased from Master Lock in May 2025 by MALO WI LLC, an affiliate of St. Louis-based Commercial Development Co., for $2.6 million.

The firm planned to redevelop the buildings for manufacturing, warehousing, and industrial storage tenants.

But Commercial Development is instead seeking to sell the property through the FRE Auctions website. That online auction is to start on July 31, according to the website.

The complex has four primary buildings, totaling 780,000 square feet, built between 1950 and 1981.

A Commercial Development executive couldn’t be immediately reached for comment about why the firm decided to sell the property.

An investigative report published in January 2025 by Inside Climate News found dozens of properties in Commercial Development Co.’s portfolio where redevelopment efforts have stalled.

Master Lock announced in 2023 it was closing its Milwaukee facility after decades of operations. The plant produced parts for locks assembled in Mexico.

The shutdown eliminated 400 jobs, with production moving to other North American facilities.

Master Lock at one time had 1,300 employees at the site, making it among the largest Milwaukee central city employers.

The company in January 2025 announced it was closing its Oak Creek headquarters, affecting 120 employees.

That was part of a consolidation of offices by Fortune Brands Innovations Inc., Master Lock’s corporate parent, to Deerfield, Illinois.