OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — The owners of MK Lofts, an apartment building on South Main Street in Oshkosh, are in the midst of two lawsuits, which claim they owe contracted workers over $1 million.
- The MK Lofts apartment building was approved in 2021 by city council.
- There are 11 subcontractor companies claiming the owners have not paid them in full for work done on the development.
- The claims are filed between Nov. 2024 and April 2025.
The Miles Kimball building on the corner of South Main Street and W Ninth Avenue was built in 1904. The Oshkosh Redevelopment Authority acquired the building in 2005.
In 2021, the Oshkosh City Council approved a renovation of the building, allowing Miles Kimball, LLC to recreate the space into a 28-unit apartment building.
It was part of the city’s goal to develop the Sawdust District- the area south of the Fox River.
Now, four years later, MK Lofts is renting studio and two-bedroom units.
According to city council records from April 13, 2021, the City of Oshkosh agreed upon a $1.15 million Paygo TIF, which is a pay-as-you-go financing for developers.
Starting on Nov. 19, 2024, there have been 11 claims against MK Lofts. Each claim is made by a different subcontractor company, saying MK Lofts LLC has failed to pay them back in full for the work made on the development.
In total, the claims add up to $1,125,695 in unpaid work and range from $26,135 to $299,962.
Out of the 11 claims, 10 are only liens– a type of legal claim.
One contractor, Wisconsin Window Concepts Inc., has filed a lawsuit against MK Lofts, its owners and related companies.
The lawsuit lists CR Structures Group Inc. as the prime contractor on the MK Lofts project, Kip Golden as the vice president of CR Structures and co-owner of MK Lofts, Chad Reichelt as president of CR Structures, and Helfrich Enterprises, LLP, as a partial owner of MK lofts.
The lawsuit also lists eight other subcontractors that have filed liens against MK lofts for unpaid work. Wisconsin Window Concepts attorney, Mark Murphy, says they are listed as defendants because they are related to the MK Lofts project, but the subcontractors are not liability defendants.
There are five claims listed: Foreclosure, Unjust Enrichment, Breach of Contract, Theft-Theft by Contractor-Conversion of Trust Funds and Punitive Damages.
Murphy says his client has also filed a lawsuit against Golden, Reichelt and CR Structures for unpaid work on another apartment complex– The Brin in Menasha.
According to the Winnebago County Court documents– both the liens and the lawsuits– the alleged amount of money owed to the 15 subcontractors for work on The Brin and MK Lofts totals $1,807,677.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Murphy says.
Murphy says they’ve requested a jury trial, but that the legal process will likely move slowly. They have not yet entered the discovery phase.
I reached out to Golden and the lawyers for MK Lofts, Helfrich Enterprises, LLP, and CR Structures, as listed in the court records, but did not hear back.
