ASQ Center (Formerly Marshall Field’s and Ivory Tusk)

600 N Plankinton Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53203

Project Manager: Kenneth R. Balestrieri

Field Manager: Kenneth R. Balestrieri

Services Provided by Balestieri:

Project Summary

An iconic Milwaukee building that had housed Marshall Field & Company’s department store is revitalized and finds new life as a mixed-use space containing offices and a hotel. The building, now known as ASQ Center, is a national landmark. The building is connected by skyway (completed in 1990) to the Riverside Theater over West Wisconsin Avenue, to the Plankinton Building over North Plankinton Avenue and to the Chase Tower over the Milwaukee River.

A historic building in the Kilbourn Town neighborhood in downtown Milwaukee had become a “white elephant.” The building needed a facelift and a new purpose, but needed to honor its past as well.

Balestrieri worked with Irgens Development to help transform the old building into new office and hotel space. The renovation of this former department store helped meet the growing needs an demands for several local area businesses in Milwaukee, including architectural firm Kalher Slater Architects, which relocated their offices to the renovated space. Other tenants include ASQ (American Society for Quality), Visit Milwaukee, and PKWARE Inc. The former department store was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 as part of the West Side Commercial Historic District.