Report: Eaton Corp. May Move Headquarters to Menomonee Falls

Eaton Corp., an international manufacturer of electrical and power systems, may move its division headquarters to Menomonee Falls after plans to build in Wauwatosa fell through.

According to Tom Daykin of the Journal Sentinel, developer Doug Weas has submitted plans to construct a building just under 81,500 square feet in the Woodland Prime business park north of Good Hope Road and east of Flint Drive.

According to Daykin's story, the building would have a price tag of $15 million. Village Manager Mark Fitzgerald said the project would receive about $3 million in public financing if approved by the Village Board. The Plan Commission will take its first look at the proposal Aug. 9.

In the story, Fitzgerald said the village would provide a $500,000 grant and $2.5 million in property tax payments would be returned to Eaton over 10 years. He said the company would employ about 190 people at its proposed location.

Eaton is an international corporation headquartered in Cleveland that develops and manufactures a wide variety of electrical and power systems for aerospace, automotive and other industries. The Milwaukee division is no longer involved in manufacturing; it employs about 145 people in research and development roles.

Eaton Corp.in Wauwatosa for its new division headquarters. However, plans fell through after in federal tax credits from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority.

WHEDA is one of three organizations that together make up the Wisconsin Community Development Legacy Fund, a community development entity (CDE) that allocates the federal New Market Tax Credits intended to spur investment and growth in low-income census tracts. The other two organizations that make up the non-profit fund along with WHEDA are Legacy Bankcorp and Impact 7.

NMTC grants are a financing tool that can generate net equity of up to 10 percent or more of a project cost, and also can be used to leverage low-interest loans.

Although the Eaton project proposed for the Milwaukee County Research Park fell within a low-income census tract, it did not meet the Wisconsin fund's more stringent standards to more directly benefit the low-income community, Farshad Maltes, WHEDA's economic development director said in April.