text: Barrett reports local hiring numbers for Northwestern Mutual project
  Of the total number of workers hired for the $450 million Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. Tower and Commons project, 355 have been hired from low-income, underserved Milwaukee neighborhoods, Mayor Tom Barrett said Monday.
  The number reflects workers in 21 trades who are currently or who have been employed full time on the project since it began in August of 2014, Barrett said at a news conference against the backdrop of the project at W. Wisconsin and N. Prospect avenues.
  The project currently employs between 500-600 workers, and a total of between 1,000-2,000 workers are expected to be involved in it before its scheduled completion by the end of 2017, said Sandy Botcher, Northwestern Mutual vice president and project leader, who joined Barrett and other project officials at the news conference.
  Northwestern Mutual has said it would use small business enterprises for at least 25% of its construction costs and hire local workers through the city's Residents Preference Program for at least 40% of the hours worked.
  So far contracts to local small business enterprises have accounted for 31.8% of the total projected costs, and 44.2% of total hours worked have gone to people hired through the city's program, Northwestern Mutual spokesman John Gardner has said.
  The 32-story office building and commons area will total 1.1 million square feet when it's completed by the end of 2017. The company expects to add 1,900 jobs by 2030 to its downtown campus, where it now has 3,600 employees.