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WI GC #DC-1142079

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P-108 / Renovation & adaptive reuse

Malt House Lofts

Twenty years empty, one fire and a failing roof. We turned Walker’s Point’s last malt house into homes, without losing a single arched window.

Elevation drawing of Malt House Lofts: four storeys of brick with arched windows, a glazed market hall at street level and a water tower on the roof
North elevation, 1:200Drawing: Corbel Studio

The brief

The challenge

The malt house was built in 1898 to hold grain, not people. Its floors were rated for barley, not bathrooms; a 2011 fire had charred a third of the timber; and the city wanted the street front kept exactly as it was.

  • Brick walls up to 900 mm thick with no insulation
  • Timber floors too weak for residential loads
  • Historic district rules on every window and opening
  • River-edge site with a high water table

Our solution

We slid a new steel frame inside the old shell, so the brick only carries itself. Sound timber went back in as exposed beams; charred timber became the market hall’s counters.

  • Independent steel frame on 64 new helical piles
  • Inside-face wood-fibre insulation that lets the brick breathe
  • 212 arched windows rebuilt with slim double glazing
  • Ground-source heat pumps under the courtyard

Before / after

Same walls. New life.

Drag the handle, or focus it and use the arrow keys, to compare the street front in 2022 with the finished building.

After: repointed brick, new steel windows and a glazed shopfront
Before: boarded and broken windows, stained brick and a for-lease sign

Drawings & views

4 sheets  /  Select to enlarge

1 / 4

Outcome

Delivered under the guaranteed price.

“Corbel told us in month two what the building would cost in month twenty-two. Final account came in 1.8 percent under.”

Priya Raman, Development Director, Lakeline Partners
Homes created
86
Windows restored
212
Under GMP
1.8%
Lost-time incidents
0

Keep looking

All projects
  • Elevation drawing of Cedarburg Mill Renovation

    P-117  /  Cedarburg, Wisconsin

    Cedarburg Mill

    An 1855 stone grist mill reborn as a brewery and event hall, joined to a new glass link.

    Floor area
    3,400 m² / 36,597 ft²
    Completed
    2023
  • Elevation drawing of Third Ward Exchange Commercial

    P-101  /  Historic Third Ward, Milwaukee

    Third Ward Exchange

    Six storeys of mass-timber offices over street-level retail, delivered three weeks early.

    Floor area
    11,600 m² / 124,861 ft²
    Completed
    2024
  • Concept elevation of Riverwest Clinic Architecture

    P-126  /  Riverwest, Milwaukee

    Riverwest Clinic

    A community health clinic wrapped in timber fins; permits approved, ground breaks in spring.

    Floor area
    4,100 m² / 44,132 ft²
    Completed
    In design

Next step

Got an old building worth saving?

We have brought 41 pre-1930 buildings back into use. Tell us about yours and we will walk it with you, free.