Milwaukee-based Kahler Slater has opened an office in Chicago with the hiring of architect Trina Sandschafer, the company announced yesterday.
According to a news release, Sandschafer will serve as design principal and vice president and lead the Chicago office.
“Kahler Slater’s expansion with a physical presence in Chicago is an exciting way to embark on this new decade,” Glenn Roby, Kahler Slater executive vice president, said in the release. “(Sandschafer) is an exceptional person who will help fuel our firm’s continued strategic growth by expanding our client base, partnerships, and design capabilities. She will also help us continue to attract highly-talented individuals across all the markets we serve.”
The firm’s goal is to grow the office as quickly as possible, with somewhere between 20-30 design professionals working out of the new Chicago office, Roby said in an emailed statement.
Kahler Slater has not yet selected a physical office location, though it has established a temporary location while it seeks out a more permanent one. The firm plans to choose a permanent location sometime this year.
Sandschafer has expertise in both multi-family and single-family residential, as well as hospitality projects. She previously worked for 13 years at Chicago-based design firm Booth Hansen, where she served in a number of roles including design principal, master planner, key project leader for single- and multi-family projects, talent acquisition leader and executive committee member.
Sandschafer worked on a number of high-profile projects in the Chicago area, such as 61 East Banks Apartments in Chicago and Kelmscott Park in Lake Forest, Illinois. Kahler Slater has worked with a number of Chicago-area clients such as Synergy, Capital One, Mesirow Financial, Grant Thornton, Northwestern Medicine, Underwiters Laboratories, Bswift and Astellas Pharma.
“It is with much enthusiasm that I join Kahler Slater, a forward-thinking firm with a rich legacy,” Sandschafer said in the release.
