Adaptive Reuse at U-Haul Moving & Storage at Capitol Dr
(Holton and Capitol Dr East of Walmart Supercenter, 1/2 mile east of I-43)
Services at this Location:
Adaptive Reuse in Milwaukee, WI at U-Haul Moving & Storage at Capitol Dr

Building History
Who doesn't love ice cream on a hot day? If you are from the midwestern and northeastern part of the United States, then you may remember the Sealtest brand of dairy and delicious ice cream. Sealtest Dairy Company was a once popular producer of milk, cream, ice cream, and lemonade founded and operated by Vernon F. Hovey. The brand was originally a franchise, where local milk bottlers bought the rights to the Sealtest name to sell in their prospective market areas. The Milwaukee operation that ran out of the building at 505 E Capitol Drive was eventually purchased from a family-owned dairy operation named Luick Dairy in the late 1940s. The Luick Dairy operation and all of the other franchisees were eventually bought up by the National Dairy Company. The Sealtest brand was famously mentioned in Martin Luther King's "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech as he urged people to boycott the company over civil rights issues. Sealtest also sponsored the Sealtest Ice Cream Parlor and Sealtest Ice Cream Wagon in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida.
Sealtest has such a uniqie and rich history and U-Haul did not want to see the historic building go to ruins, so U-Haul acquired the property in 1985. Adaptive reuse building conversions allow U-Haul to promote infill development to meet citizens’ needs while preserving the natural resources and land normally required for new construction. Adaptive reuse also allows resources to be focused on integrating environmentally thoughtful features into the existing building rather than creating waste in the form of demolition and using valuable resources for new construction.
Environmental Impact
Serving U-Haul customers since 1985, this facility was built through adaptive reuse of an abandoned building. Adaptive reuse promotes infill development in an effort to strengthen communities, with the following benefits achieved at this site:
- 12 tons of metal manufacturing & transportation prevented
- 6,644 tons of new concrete pours avoided
- 6,751.2 tons of construction and demolition debris prevented
Energy-efficiency and waste-reduction programs at this facility provide the following estimated benefits each year for the Milwaukee community:
- 141,836 kWh annual energy savings
- 2,809,607 lbs greenhouse gas emissions prevented
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Steel Production 12 tons (11 tonnes) of steel manufacturing and delivery saved to date
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Energy 141,836 kWh annual energy savings
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Concrete 6,644 tons (6,029 tonnes) of new concrete pours avoided to date
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Emissions 2,809,607 lbs (1,274,429 kgs) of greenhouse gas emissions prevented
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Landfill Debris 6,751 lbs (6,126 kgs) of construction debris prevented
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History
We have an adaptive reuse program to better the environment!