Bader Philanthropies moving HQ to King Drive
Bader Philanthropies Inc. is going all in on Milwaukee's central city.
One of the Milwaukee area's largest foundations will be moving its headquarters to a building that will be redeveloped on King Drive, creating an $8 million investment.
The two-story headquarters, a renovated historic building with a newly built addition, will be on the east side of N. King Drive, north of W. Concordia Ave.
It is tentatively scheduled to be completed by summer 2018, when the foundation’s lease expires at 233 N. Water St., in the Historic Third Ward.
Bader Philanthropies brings together under one umbrella the philanthropic interests of Isabel and Alfred Bader and the late Helen Daniels Bader. It will be the first Wisconsin foundation that funds central city programs to operate its offices there.
For the Bader family, the foundation's move to the central city completes a circle. Alfred Bader co-founded Aldrich Chemicals in 1951 out of a rented garage in Milwaukee. The firm experienced great growth when it was on N. 29th St. and W. Meinecke Ave. from 1958 to 1969.
"The family is very excited about this. This is who we are," said Daniel J. Bader, president and CEO of Bader Philanthropies.
"The wealth of our foundation was created in center city Milwaukee," he added. "The success of the company had a lot to do with the workforce, and a big component came from the center city. We felt an obligation in honoring our history and legacy to return to our roots as a family and develop a headquarters in a similar type neighborhood."
Bader said his mother, Helen Daniels Bader, "was deeply passionate about helping men, women and children living in the central city reach their full potential."
The foundation's new home will be in the Harambee neighborhood, which is generally bordered by I-43, N. Holton St., W. Vine St. and W. Capitol Drive.
It has lately seen other developments, including Pete's Fruit Market, a supermarket coming to 2323 N. King Drive; senior apartments that will be created within the former Fifth Street School, 2770 N. 5th St.; and Welford Sanders Historic Lofts, a mix of affordable apartments and offices being created within a former shoe factory, at 2801-2821 N. 4th St.
Since 1992, Bader Philanthropies has provided grants totaling more than $265 million. The Harambee area has received nearly $20 million in grants and program-related investments from the foundation.
Bader Philanthropies focuses on areas that include workforce development, youth development, Alzheimer's disease and aging. That focus will continue, Daniel Bader said, but a "place-based component" will be added to adapt some of the programs to the Harambee neighborhood.
"We want to make sure we're part of the neighborhood," Bader said.
The redeveloped 22,000-square-foot headquarters, at 3318 N. King Drive, will include a conference room that accommodates up to 120 people.
The headquarters will be created by renovating the King Drive building and constructing a small addition. The building was constructed in 1927 for offices and retail space and has been vacant for several years.
Bader Philanthropies also is buying the adjacent one-story commercial building, at 3314 N. King Drive, which will be demolished to create green space; a house at 3317 N. 4th St., to demolish for a rear parking lot; and some neighboring city-owned vacant lots for green space and parking.
Construction of the new headquarters is to begin in June. Bader said the foundation is committed to working with as many minority-owned businesses as possible on the project.
The new office plans drew praise from Mayor Tom Barrett, Development Commissioner Rocky Marcoux and Ald. Milele Coggs, whose district includes Harambee.
“Bader Philanthropies is deeply invested in our community," Barrett said in a statement. “With this action, they are using more than their traditional tools of money and leadership to make a difference, they are choosing to be part of the Harambee neighborhood and that’s good news for Milwaukee.”
The foundation will conduct a listening session to show renderings of the new headquarters and answer questions from Harambee residents. It will start at 6 p.m. Aug. 15 at HeartLove Place, 3229 N. King Drive.