McKinley School Lofts

A former Milwaukee school found new life as a 39-unit apartment building for veterans and their families.

The school was damaged by a fire and sat vacant and unheated for more than 10 years before work began on the McKinley School Lofts. While the building’s roof and integral gutter systems were failing and led to water infiltration in the exterior walls and masonry spalling and degradation, architect Allyson Nemec of Quorum Architects said the building “was loaded with potential.”

“The classrooms, — now residences — hallways and stairs were beautifully designed and their historic character was largely intact,” she said. “While the windows themselves were deteriorated beyond repair, the huge window openings flood the building with light in the residential and common areas.”

Before Gorman & Co. purchased the school, the city of Milwaukee applied for Environmental Protection Agency Remediation Funding — a Tax Incremental Finance Grant that allowed the project to fall within the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development cost caps on the project. The building also qualified for historic tax credits.

“Utilizing historic preservation tax credits at the state and federal level, we were able to harness the history and the potential of this incredible building and bring it back to much-needed residential use,” Nemec said.

Gorman & Co. and Quorum Architects worked closely with city of Milwaukee staff and regulatory agencies to balance the historic preservation standards, WHEDA requirements and neighborhood concerns when designing the final project so the character of the old school remains throughout the building.

As part of the overall project, new, single-family homes will be built on the site’s north side to provide additional housing options.