Starbucks built a new ground-up building on a small but highly-trafficked site at 6th and Layton in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Redmond was selected to build the building shell and complete the site improvements. The tenant completed the interior finishes of the business.

Because of the compact site, Redmond faced a few challenges including accommodating a drive-through lane in addition to meeting the city’s parking requirements. The parking lot space was meant to be shared between Starbucks customers and customers visiting the adjacent Qdoba Mexican Grill restaurant. The solution to these challenges was a highly-efficient, smartly-designed 1,700 sf building on the site.

Redmond also installed a fence between the drive-up and the neighboring houses bordering the drive-up in order to block the ordering box speaker sound levels and prevent the car headlights from shining in the homes.

A unique feature on the exterior of this building was a cladding system that outshined ordinary fiber cement panel and trim systems. Redmond chose a modern panel reveal design incorporating a fiber cement cladding trimmed with an aluminum reveal. The result was a visually attractive exterior surface with crisp lines, giving the building a clean, contemporary feel.