$61M corporate headquarters planned in Brookfield

By TOM DAYKIN

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

A Brookfield-based insurance company would move to a $61 million headquarters there, with the help of $2.57 million in city financing, under a new proposal.

Old Republic Risk Management Inc. would lease a 125,000-square-foot office building that would replace two older office buildings at 400 and 440 S. Executive Drive.

Old Republic, now at 445 S. Moorland Road, would lease its new headquarters from Minneapolis-based developer Ryan Cos., according to a city report.

The insurer has 349 employees and would hire an estimated 96 additional employees by 2032 at its Executive Drive headquarters, the report said.

Ryan Cos. and Old Republic are seeking $2.75 million in city financing to help pay for the project.

Those funds would be generated by property tax revenue from the new headquarters through a tax incremental financing district.

They would pay for costs that include demolishing the two Executive Drive office buildings, and utility upgrades. That financing district needs Common Council approval.

The Brookfield Community Development Authority endorsed the financing district at its July 28 meeting, said Dan Ertl, city community development director. He said the council would likely review the proposal in September.

“Public improvement costs needed to develop the site would have been too prohibitive for the City and/or developer to undertake alone,” according to Ryan’s financing request to city officials.

Ryan and partner Madison Capital would pass on the city assistance’s value “in the form of a reduced lease rate, making this facility financially viable within Old Republic’s budget,” it said.

“Without this rent reduction, the cost of the new headquarters would not be feasible for Old Republic, and the project would not proceed,” according to Ryan.

If approved by the city, construction would likely start in the second quarter of 2027 and be completed by the end of 2028.

Meanwhile, Old Republic is evaluating competing locations, including relocation to the Chicago area – with State of Illinois “offering aggressive incentive packages including withholding tax credits, cash grants, infrastructure funding, and training support,” according to Ryan.

Executive Drive is home to several offices buildings constructed in the 1970s. That includes four buildings that have sold at deep discounts in recent years.