Project Description

The Corcoran Lofts are a five-story building located in the heart of the historic third ward of downtown Milwaukee. These loft-style apartments boast upscale design elements, which include huge floor-to-ceiling windows that flood the space with natural light and provide panoramic views of the city.

The project had an accelerated building schedule, which began in spring of 2009 and required completion of the exterior before December of that same year.

Windsor’s distributor, Millwork Distributors Inc. (MDI), worked closely with the architect, developer, general contractor and framing contractor to coordinate the details of this order. Communication began early in the planning stages and continued throughout the selection process. MDI provided specifications, drawings and material samples, and they followed the order throughout delivery, installation and inspection of operation. Complete cooperation was demonstrated throughout the building process assuring necessary attention to detail was met.

By late spring of 2010, these apartments were completely occupied, qualifying the Corcoran Lofts as one of the Mandel Group’s most successful projects.

Unique Requirements/Solutions

This project called for extra large casement and direct set windows and narrow-style patio doors to be the major focal point in these loft apartments. It was essential that the windows and doors were delivered in perfect condition and on schedule. Delivery was scheduled per floor, in coordination with the builder, to maintain the tight construction schedule. A clear coat finish was applied before the assembly of the windows so when delivered to the jobsite, they were ready to install without the need for further finishing in the field. MDI worked closely with everyone involved to exceed the expectations of the developer and contractor.

Comments from Project Associates

Tom Marshall, with the Mandel Group, drove the decision to purchase Windsor’s Pinnacle series for this project. Having a superior product backed by excellent service was mandatory for this project, especially based on the expedited building schedule. Tom explained, “We looked at many products before choosing Windsor. We thought the product was more substantial than many of the competitor’s products we looked at. The overall appearance was impressive and the price was very good. The deliveries came in as scheduled and the product was per specification.” Tom has received very positive feedback from the Mandel building management group. They have reported that Windsor products look great and operate very well, providing the quality and reliability that they demanded.