MILWAUKEE — Northwestern Mutual is making a $500 million investment in downtown Milwaukee. 

On Tuesday, the company celebrated the construction about to begin on its North Office Modernization project.

The project is a new tower that will be built right across from the main building.

It will help in relocating nearly 2,000 employees from its Franklin location to downtown Milwaukee.

Northwestern Mutual CEO John Schlifske said the new building will not only add to the city’s skyline, but also bring more economic opportunity.

“We are very committed to using City of Milwaukee residents and reaching into the community to pull people who live here to work on our project and we are so thrilled to do it again with our new north building,” said Schlifske. “It was a huge home run the first time and I know it will be this time, too.”

One of the companies involved in the project’s construction is Gilbane Building Company.

Gilbane Building Company’s vice president, Alicia Dupies, said the company is aiming to get more local people involved in the construction of the new building.

“Our industry has advanced quite a bit so a lot of the trade partners we work with — whether that is the electrical contractors, the mechanical contractors — they are really equipped to bring on new workforce, younger apprentices, get them trained up to really lift them up into these trade opportunities,” said Dupies.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said the most important thing the North Office Modernization does is create more family-supporting jobs in the city.

He said he believes its impact will go far beyond this one project.

“For some people, this would be the start. For others that have already gone through this pipeline, this will be the next in a series of projects that they will do throughout their career in construction and the building trades in Milwaukee,” said Johnson.

The project is expected to be completed in the next three to five years.