Wisconsin Commission OKs Planning Funds for $300M UW-Madison Engineering Building | Columbus Ohio Dump Trucks
The new engineering building is one of various projects included in UW-Madison's 2015 master plan update, and university officials say it's the highest-priority.
Drawing courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Madison
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is preparing to move forward with a proposal to build a $300-million college of engineering building.
The Wisconsin State Building Commission approved $1 million from the state building trust funds to prepare plans for the building as part of $71 million it OK’d for various projects during a June 22 meeting. This was the second round of funding the commission had approved for preliminary design columbus oh dump truck work on the project. The Wisconsin Dept. of Administration has selected Continuum Architects + Planners, in association with SmithGroup and Ring & DuChateau LLP, as designers for the UW-Madison project.
“These projects are critical for modernizing our state’s infrastructure and helping to make sure our buildings are operating efficiently and safely,” Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement on the slate of approved work.
The project will involve demolishing the existing 63,561-gross-sq-ft computer-aided engineering facility, as well as portions of a material science building, then constructing a 340,000-gross-sq-ft replacement engineering building, records show. The building will consolidate instructional, research, lab, student organizational spaces and support services in one location.
University officials say it’s their highest-priority major project and they anticipate it will help attract and retain faculty and draw more students. It will allow UW-Madison to increase its undergraduate engineering student enrollment from about 4,500 to 5,500. They also hope to add 650 graduate students and 120 faculty over six years.
The university is seeking half the money for the project from the state in the 2023-25 budget, and will fundraise for the second half. Construction is aimed to start in 2024 and expected to last about three years.
The Wisconsin State Building Commission also approved funding for projects like a $100-million Wisconsin Historical Society museum, Waupun Central Generating Plant water system improvements, an expansion to the state Dept. of Corrections' Wisconsin Secure Program Facility and electrical upgrades for the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King, among other work.