BUILDING BLOCKS: Florida Lofts

Project: Florida Lofts

Address: 408 W. Florida St., Milwaukee

Size: 156,000 square feet

Start date: June 2014

Estimated completion date: summer 2015

Owner: Hovde Properties LLC, Madison

General contractor: J.H. Findorff & Son Inc., Madison

Lead engineer: Pierce Engineers Inc., Milwaukee

Lead architect: The Kubala Washatko Architects Inc., Cedarburg

Number of workers employed: 164

Significance to the region: The Florida Lofts will be in Milwaukee’s Fifth Ward and adjacent to the Iron Horse Hotel. The apartments are being added to the former Ziegler Candy Factory, which was built in 1907. Residents will have 126 parking spaces.

Progress made since October: Stud walls are pretty much complete throughout the building. Drywall is up, and crews are painting on the top floor, from which they will work their way down. Planning of mechanical, engineering and plumbing is taking place on the lower floor, where crews are finishing up stud work. Cabinets and doors are starting to arrive, but finishes are just getting started.

Point of interest/project challenge: The project includes a design for a parking structure next to the building. The structure will have two floors of parking, with 35 to 40 spaces, with a ramp and some green space on top. From the second floor of the parking structure, residents will be able to access the second floor of the building.