Yankee Hill Plaza Repairs located at 626 East Kilbourn Avenue in downtown Milwaukee, WI. Hunzinger Construction Company was hired as the general contractor for this intricate project to replace the waterproofing system that involved the replacement of the associated masonry walls, concrete wearing slabs, and landscape planters. Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates of Northbrook, IL lead the engineering and design work.
Hunzinger’s work also included structural repairs to the concrete foundations and post-tensioned concrete slabs. The project involved some cutting edge and unique low voltage testing of the waterproof membrane that could quickly identify leak penetrations for repair. The work required careful planning and site logistics as it occurred simultaneously at both the north and south tower plazas while maintaining tenant access to the townhouses that lined the two city blocks. The owner also chose to increase the energy efficiency of the property by upgrading to LED lighting throughout the exterior of the apartment complex.
The challenge of this project was the constant coordination of site logistics and the necessity of maintaining access for the tenants to their townhouses. The phasing of the schedule was contingent on maintaining either front or back door access to every tenant’s townhome throughout the duration of the project. Initially, we closed the back doors of the townhomes and started with the interior plaza work while maintaining tenant access to their front doors. As areas of the interior were completed, tenant access switched to the newly opened back doors so that demolition could commence along the exterior perimeter of the city blocks. Coordination with the property manager was critical to be able to complete our work as well as plan for scheduled move-ins and move-outs during the construction project.
