Challenging restoration nears completion

The nearly century-old historic Grafton State Bank building is experiencing a rebirth after sitting vacant in downtown Grafton for the past decade.  

Architect Josh Wadzinski of Think Design in Glendale purchased the property and began restoring the 95-year-old building last March. He said the project has been a major undertaking and expects work to be completed this summer.

“This has probably been the most challenging building that I have been a part of. I think it was a couple of months away from being a total loss,” he said, noting water was beginning to seep through the 13-inch walls. “It was completely abandoned for 10 years and it was just a shell sitting there. It had not been winterized and it was a true masonry building.”

Community Development Director Jessica Wolff said it took the village several years to find the right buyer for the property.

“It’s incredible for Grafton to have someone who values the old bank building and is willing to put blood, sweat, tears and resources to bring it back to life. We are very fortunate,” Wolff said.Wadzinski said the challenges the 6,000-square-foot building presented were well suited for a person with an a background in restoration work.

“I think it would have been a financial nightmare for someone who wasn’t connected to the construction industry and knew how to take on a project like this from start to finish,” he said.

The project was supposed to be completed in 12 months, but due to delays in the supply chain and the Covid-19 pandemic, he expects the building to be finished by early summer. Although the coronavirus extended the project, Wadzinski said, Gov. Tony Evers’ Safer-at-Home order helped reduce the amount of traffic and passers-by along the busy intersection near the Paramount Plaza.   

“The coronavirus hit about a month and a half after we started. For the first six months, it was actually beneficial to us because we were doing a substantial amount of work on the exterior and that was a very busy corner. With the coronavirus, it was like a ghost town and nobody was parking there or out on the sidewalks. It would have been a nightmare if it is as busy as it is now,” he said, noting his crews were able to use heavy-duty equipment for exterior work and tear out the sidewalk to reconnect the utilities.  

Wadzinski said his company’s headquarters will occupy half of the space and wants to eventually sign two tenants.

“I’m looking for someone compatible with my use. Otherwise, anything you can think of within reason could go into that space. It could even be a restaurant,” he said. “The building can actually be divided into three spaces, which is how I’m restoring it because there are so many ins and outs of the building.”

In the 1960s, when the building was Ozaukee Bank, the former Grafton Post Office that was built next door in 1906 was attached to the structure. At the time, the building had a gold facade.

“The gold panels actually helped preserve the building. The only drawback is they put a bunch of fasteners into the masonry to hold the panels on and water was beginning to damage the brick,” Wadzinski said.

“We got there right in time and caught it before it started.”

Wadzinski said he had wanted to renovate a historic building between Glendale and Grafton for several years to capitalize on commercial and residential projects north of Milwaukee.

“I think there are some great markets here, especially on the high-end housing side,” Wadzinski said. “I think there are some markets that are not really being serviced and I would love to tap into those.  

“A lot of our clients are on the periphery of Milwaukee proper. Our options were to go west or north, and I always liked the area north of Milwaukee so that’s where we are going to end up.”

Wadzinski said he hopes the renovated building will draw people downtown.

“There’s a lot of traffic that goes past the building, and the downtown area has really become a popular destination in recent years,” he said. “I hope my work on this historic building will add to the energy here.”