Nicknamed the Red Beacon, the downtown Milwaukee Tool office building is located at 551 N. 5th St. in the former Assurant building. After sitting vacant for many years, the five-story, 370,000-square-foot structure built in 1978 was renovated in a $30+ million effort into a new home for Milwaukee Tool. Renovations to the building, led by Stephen Perry Smith Architects, began in 2021, with employees beginning to move into the building in early 2022.

ZS was retained by Stephen Perry Smith Architects and Milwaukee Tool for building enclosure consulting services. ZS assisted with the project at several stages throughout the building project providing the following services: facade evaluation and assessment including structural assessments of various elements, building enclosure design assistance and document review, thermal modeling, building enclosure commissioning, and construction administration services including, site inspections and functional performance testing.