Borger Building Renovation

Location: Milwaukee, WI
Type: Residential

This project converted an existing four story, vacant historic building, into a new mixed-use development with a first floor restaurant and twelve units on the upper floors.  The renovation was completed according to the National Park Service Historic Renovation Guidelines and received Historic Tax Credits.  

The design focused on highlighting the historic details and materials of the building.  The cream city brick, a city of Milwaukee standard, was cleaned and restored to bring the facade back to life.  New windows were selected to fit the historic character of the building, and the details of the window trim were designed to mimic the historic casement of windows from this period.  All the interiors of the apartments have exposed heavy timber framing and cream city brick. 

​A new stair tower was added to the back of the building to allow code required egress from the apartments.  This addition was designed to be a handsome under-study to the massing and detailing of the main building.  The stair tower uses contrasting masonry to distinguish the addition while keeping the exterior material compatible with the existing brick.