River Glen Marketplace 2004 WCMA Excellence Award Winner -- County Materials: Manufacturer of Concrete Landscape and Architectural Masonry Products, Ready-Mix, Prestress, Precast

River Glen Marketplace
Milwaukee, WI
2004 WCMA Excellence Award Winner

Location: Milwaukee, WI

Cost: $1,087,968

Size: 17,000 sq. ft.

Completion Date: Nov. 2003

Architect: MSI General Corp., Oconomowoc, WI

Mason Contractor: J.H. Hassinger

CMU Producer:
County Materials Corp.

Scope of Project:
River Glen Marketplace is a renovation project to the former "East Capitol Place" retail/office center. The building has gone through six addition/renovation projects over the past twenty years. This recent renovation included the interior for Outpost Natural Foods, as well as the eastern and southern exterior elevations. The southern elevation is approximately 280' long and required a complete demolition and reface. The building is one story on the southwest side and two stories on the southeast side. Phasing for the interior and exterior portions of this project was important because Outpost Natural Foods needed to remain open throughout the renovation.

River Glen Marketplace is located at 100 East Capitol Drive in the city of Milwaukee. This is a typical urban location with angular parking and minimal space for material staging and construction. The owner of the building is Pieper Properties. Both Pieper Properties and Outpost Foods felt several items needed to be taken into consideration:

The final design needed to be:

maintenance free
durable to withstand the wear and tear caused by customer traffic shopping carts
timeless, because the previous design, though not very old, felt dated

Concrete Masonry is cost-effective solution
The owner’s first response was to use either clay brick or EIFS as a veneer. As the final budget became clearer, the architect suggested substituting load-bearing concrete brick to help control costs and still provide many of the qualities the owners were expecting. The architect also felt the building should reflect an industrial character.

The design specifically focuses on the weaving of seven decorative materials. This palette of materials is as diverse as the customers who shop at the store. Two blended concrete brick units were used to represent the red-orange factory look and the historical Milwaukee “Cream City” look. The two colors alternate to break up the composition of 280 linear feet of masonry. Two darker ground face block colors anchor the building to the site and a light colored block represents a transitional layer of materials left behind after the concrete brick is figuratively carved away. The mortar used for the masonry materials was standard gray, which helps bring out the individual qualities of the 4” x 16” units. Four precast coin designs were chosen by Outpost employees to represent different food-related themes.

The main interior space created in this renovation was the entrance/airlock. This space visually screens and protects the carts. Exposed masonry and corrugated steel were selected to align the interior space with the exterior space. This created a warm and welcoming transition between the parking lot and the grocery store interior. Special consideration and detail was given in the vestibule to rake the horizontal joints and fill the vertical joints solid. This is an old technique, which helps create horizontal banding around the room. The floor for the entrance vestibule is stained concrete with control joints that match the exterior paving.

The River Glen Marketplace/Outpost Natural Foods renovation is a cost-effective design alternative to clay brick and EIFS that doesn’t sacrifice detailing or architectural integrity. The exterior provides a maintenance free, durable veneer that will retain its natural and timeless beauty for years to come.