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Campus building boom continues with multiple projects

September 9, 2009 By Dennis Chaptman

If building construction is a sign of vitality, UW–Madison continues to thrive, with improvements under way across campus.

For those who tried to navigate the campus and its vicinity this summer, it was sometimes a taxing experience. But the results are clear: better streets, a more reliable infrastructure and a campus better able to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

“For the most part, people view construction activity as a positive sign; a sign that the campus is a dynamic and changing place,” says Alan Fish, associate vice chancellor for facilities. “We’re continuing our momentum, investing in our future, and creating a better place to learn, work and live.”

For the past several years, the campus has been in the midst of its biggest building boom since the 1960s. And construction cranes continue to punctuate the campus skyline as the 2009–10 academic year begins.

Following the 2005 campus master plan, historic buildings are being renovated while 1960s-era buildings characterized by poor construction and excessive energy use are being replaced.

Funding for these projects does not include tuition and less than one-third of construction costs are supported by taxpayers, Fish says.

Here’s a look at the status of some of the larger projects under way on campus:

  • Education Building:

    The $33.3 million renovation and addition to the Education Building is on target for occupancy in summer 2010. The project, funded largely by a major gift from John and Tashia Morgridge, will preserve the building’s historical elements and reconfigure it to serve the school’s needs.

    It adds a three-story east wing, restores the wood-paneled main lobby and central staircase and adds a central commons area with views of Lake Mendota.

    Because of the construction on the north side of the Education Building, the sidewalks there are closed and officials are urging pedestrians to use the sidewalks on Bascom Hill instead.

  • Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery:

    The interdisciplinary research facility that occupies the 1300 block of University Avenue will house the public Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and the private Morgridge Institute for Research. The $200 million project offers a collaborative setting designed to spark new breakthroughs and a lively town center. It is set to be occupied in late 2010.

  • Biochemistry Building:

    The $112 million project, near Henry Mall and University Avenue, involves construction of a new cross-college Biochemistry Building. The project replaces a wing built in 1956 and extensively renovates wings dating to 1912 and 1937.

    A major concrete pour was completed at the site of the new building in late August, involving more than 300 concrete trucks. The project is slated for occupancy in fall 2011.

  • South Campus Union:

    This redevelopment project replaces the demolished Union South and will provide meeting spaces, a 400-seat auditorium, recreational facilities, guest rooms, underground parking and food service venues by spring 2011.

    The South Campus Union, a $94.8 million project funded largely through student segregated fees, is expected to become a LEED-certified “green” building and could become one of three campus stops if a commuter rail line is approved for Madison.

  • Chazen Museum of Art:

    Construction has begun on an 81,000-square-foot addition to the Chazen Museum of Art. The $47.2 million addition, which will occupy the former site of the A.W. Peterson Office Building, is being funded entirely by gifts — including a $25 million gift from Simona and Jerome Chazen.

  • School of Medicine and Public Health Faculty Office Building:

    This $41.8 million project will be seven stories tall and connected to UW Hospital and Clinics by a second-story walkway. It is being built by the UW Medical Foundation and will be gifted to the university upon completion.

  • Sterling Hall:

    The $17.5 million renovation of Sterling Hall for the departments of Psychology, Astronomy and Physics continues. Work on the 1917 wing of the building is largely complete, and work has begun on the building’s 1959 wing. The entire project is expected to be completed in summer 2010.

This summer, one phase of a renovation of Chadbourne and Barnard halls was also largely completed and work began to convert a six-unit apartment building at University Houses on the campus’s far west side into a child-care center.

Much of the traffic disruption caused by city and university road and utility projects during the summer months has ended, including much of the reconstruction of University Avenue, Campus Drive, Dayton Street, Randall Avenue and Observatory Drive.