A sprawling four-building complex in the Walker's Point neighborhood -- with a familiar Milwaukee name -- is getting a major facelift.
The Coakley Brothers have begun a $6 million dollar renovation to its headquarters at 5th and Florida St.
The project will beautify the facade of the building, including replacing the boarded up windows with exact glass replicas, adding water features, public art and a new outdoor patio. The project also will create a street-level storefront for Coakley's line of furniture and office design services, Brothers Business Interiors.
Inside the building, the original timber beams and cream city brick will be exposed and cleaned. And atop the building, workers will install a water-catching "blue roof," which holds rain water after storms to ease the load on the sewer system.
The current project stands just feet away from two other buildings previously owned by Coakley. The buildings home to the Iron Horse Hotel and Brix Apartment Lofts were each successfully sold and renovated, sparking other development in the area.
Now, the Coakley owners say they want to spiff up their own place, writes OnMilwaukee's Bobby Tanzilo.
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