See inside the HUB640 project in Downtown. Plus: Lobbying for a Target store. By Jeramey Jannene - May 10th, 2021 04:35 pm //end headline wrapper ?>HUB640. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Bon-Ton was relegated to the dust bin of corporate history in 2018, but the department store chain left behind a lot of real estate.
While shopping mall owners work to repurpose the windowless boxes once inhabited by department stores, downtown Milwaukee was left with something entirely different: an empty office building at 640 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave.
Chicago-based North Wells Capital acquired Bon-Ton’s headquarters in 2017, with the retailer’s flagship Boston Store department store on the first two levels. The real estate firm was working with Bon-Ton to consolidate its office and retail footprint in the building when the company filed for bankruptcy. Prior owner WisPark had already worked with the Mandel Group to convert the top of the eight-story building to