Greendale will host law enforcement's headquarters for the RNC. Here's what we know.

Thousands of local, state and federal law enforcement officers who are coming to Milwaukee for the 2024 Republican National Convention will operate from a temporary headquarters in Greendale.

The City of Milwaukee signed a contract in late February to pay $726,998 to occupy the building at 5400 S. 60th St. from March 4 to August 31, according to the contract between the city and owner. It was one of eight locations in the running to be the HQ.

The convention itself is being held July 15-18 in Milwaukee.

The 164,800-square-foot building, which sits on 14.5 acres, is owned by Future1 LLC, a Pewaukee-based Reiman family investment group, which bought the property for $8.2 million in 2022.

The facility was once headquarters to Greendale's Reiman Publications and most recently housed Milwaukee-area Goodwill operations until 2021. When Future1 bought the property in 2022, the facility fell again under the umbrella of Reiman ownership.

Here's what we know about plans for the Greendale property during the RNC and beyond:

Headquarters to serve as home base for thousands of state and federal law enforcement officers in town for RNC

Why does the RNC need a headquarters or "emergency operation center," as it's been dubbed in other requests for proposals?

Jeff Fleming, communication director for the Milwaukee mayor's office, said although he couldn't share specific details about the security arrangements, he put the number of incoming personnel in the thousands ― hence a separate request for proposals seeking 1,000 rooms for officers not from the immediate area.

"Because of the security arrangements, existing Milwaukee Police facilities needed to be augmented to provide an additional resource," Fleming said.

It's not just Milwaukee's police and fire departments or city and county offices of emergency management who will be prepared to respond during the convention.

According to the city's FAQ on public safety for the RNC, local groups are working with state and federal law enforcement and emergency management entities, including the U.S. Secret Service.

The convention is a designated National Special Security Event, or NSSE, meaning Secret Service members lead the security plan's design and implementation, according to the FAQ.

Potential impacts to the public will be communicated once the security plan is fully established, according to the FAQ.

RNC security costs, including the Greendale HQ, will be paid for with federal grant money, not local taxes

The city expects all security operations to be paid for with Department of Justice grant money, through the event's status as an NSSE, according to the city's FAQ.

Fleming said Milwaukee and Chicago (where the Democratic National Convention will be held in August) were the only ones applying for the grant, but they still had to receive approval from Congress.

Why was the Greendale location selected for police headquarters during the RNC?

When the Milwaukee Police Department first posted the request for proposal in April of 2023, Future1 wasn't the only interested contender.

There were eight locations that submitted proposals according to a scoring summary that ranked them on a variety of factors, including one that would have placed the HQ in Glendale.

But despite developer excitement and city involvement in the Glendale facility, it placed sixth in the scoring summary.

Future1 scored the highest out of all applicants, receiving comparably higher marks on square footage and available space, as well as parking and loading dock access ― elements the Glendale facility, submitted through supplier Peak Development, didn't score well on.

The facility, built in 1958 and remodeled in 2015, is at South 60th Street and West Loomis Road. It stands across from Greendale's police and fire departments as well as the entryway to the village's historic downtown area.

That places it at a thoroughfare through the southwest suburbs of Milwaukee, according to promotional materials for the building, between 15 and 20 minutes from downtown Milwaukee depending on exact destination and traffic.

Greendale Village Manager Mike Hawes said both 60th Street and Loomis Road provide easy access to Interstate 43 and the contiguous Interstates 41 and 94.

Hawes said the location is "out of the way enough" to not pose too big of a nuisance for Greendale residents going about their lives during the convention.

It is unclear whether or how the facility is currently being used, though a visit on May 14 showed landscaping taking place and the presence of one MPD vehicle.

Greendale facility owner up to date on taxes

Future1 LLC is up to date on its tax payments.

Hawes said the company's tax payment had been delayed in the mail. Once the village received it, the postmark listed was prior to the due date, so the village updated public information to say the payment was timely.

According to information gathered at the time this story was written, public records with the Milwaukee County Treasurer's Office showed that Future1 LLC had been delinquent on 2023 property taxes at that location by $80,719.78.

At the time, Fleming had said, "Ordinarily, tax delinquency to another jurisdiction would not preclude the city of Milwaukee from entering into a contract with that entity," he said.

What to know about the owner of the building: a Reiman family investment group

Future1 is an affiliate of Hexagon Inc., a private investment firm with offices in Denver and Milwaukee founded by Scott Reiman, according to Wisconsin's Department of Financial Institutions.

Scott Reiman is the son of Roy Reiman, who operated the largest subscription-supported publishing firm in the U.S. out of the building for around 30 years. He founded Reiman Publications in 1965 and moved it to the Greendale site in the 1970s, buying a former Allis-Chalmers Corp. nuclear power research facility.

Reiman Publications produced magazines such as Taste of Home, Reminisce and Farm & Ranch Living.

When Hexagon acquired the property in April of 2022, the firm's president Mike Hipp cited the Reiman family's previous ownership in the decision to buy it.

Roy Reiman and his wife, Bobbi, still own a home near the former company headquarters, Hipp told the Journal Sentinel at the time.

According the Federal Election Commission's political donations database, Roy Reiman has donated at least $327,550 to national and state Republican parties, candidates and SuperPACs between 2002 and 2022.

That total includes at least $38,300 between 2016 and 2019 sent to fundraising entities for Donald Trump, particularly Trump Victory and Donald J. Trump For President, INC.

Meanwhile, Scott Reiman, the current Hexagon CEO, has donated at least $550,000 to national and state parties, candidates and SuperPACs between 2002 and 2022, according to Open Secrets, a nonprofit organization that tracks campaign finance and lobbying data. Most of the donations, though not all, were to Republican entities, and he'd frequently donate to Democratic candidates prior to 2010.

Hipp, Scott Reiman and Roy Reiman could not be reached by phone after calling each twice on Friday, May 17, and once on Monday, May 20.

What are plans for the facility after the RNC?

Since Future1 bought the property in 2022, the company has been in the process of searching for a long-term tenant, Hawes said.

The website 5400headquarters.com provides photos of the facility, a virtual tour, floor plans and an offering summary.

Though the contract for use of the space didn't require approval through village government channels, Hawes said the village has been kept in the loop during the process.

Editor's note, 5/21/2024: This story has been updated to reflect that Future1 LLC is up to date on its property taxes. 

Contact Claudia Levens at clevens@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @levensc13.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Greendale location picked for RNC law enforcement headquarters