UW-Madison loses out on Gordon Commons contract request (UPDATE)

Published: June 17, 2010
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By Paul Snyder
The University of Wisconsin System must follow state contracting laws for UW-Madison’s Gordon Commons project despite arguments that to do so threatens timelines and student safety.
Wisconsin law requires state building projects follow a multiple-prime contracting system, under which the state contracts with each major construction discipline and opens all bids at once to [...]

Project delivery bill withers in Legislature

Published: April 21, 2010
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By Paul Snyder
The state Building Commission probably will have the rest of the year to decide whether Wisconsin’s bidding process is as efficient as it could be.
The state Legislature is unlikely to vote Thursday on a bill that would expand Wisconsin’s project delivery method to include single-prime and construction manager at risk contracts.
“It’s unfortunate,” said [...]

Dental project money makes lawmaker grit teeth

Published: March 31, 2010
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By Paul Snyder
A proposal to kick $10 million in state money toward a nonprofit company’s building project is taking hits as a last-minute rush job that sidesteps legislative protocol.
“Why didn’t this come to the Building Commission?” said state Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, a commission member.
State Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, and state Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, [...]

Green building bill worries project owners (UPDATE)

Published: March 15, 2010
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Comments: 8

By Paul Snyder
A state lawmaker wants to require public buildings be constructed to green standards despite fears by project owners that the law would bust their project budgets.
State Rep. Louis Molepske Jr., D-Stevens Point, has introduced a bill requiring new public buildings or major building additions of at least 10,000 gross square feet achieve Leadership [...]

State puts design before nursing school approval

Published: January 25, 2010
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By Paul Snyder
There’s a catch to the state’s request for architectural/engineering firms interested in designing a university building: The project has not been approved.
The Wisconsin Department of Administration’s Division of State Facilities is accepting consultant questionnaires through Feb. 9 for preliminary design work on an estimated $37.6 million nursing school for the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
For [...]

Maintenance projects pressure lawmakers (UPDATE)

Published: December 18, 2009
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Comments: 2

By Paul Snyder
The pace of construction in the University of Wisconsin System is creating a growing to-do list of maintenance projects and nowhere near enough money to get the work done.
“We need to start thinking about this long term,” said state Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah. “And if we’re saving money on other projects, we should [...]

Lawmakers call for savings plan in wake of low project bids

Published: December 18, 2009
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By Paul Snyder
State lawmakers want to try cutting into a maintenance budget deficit that will never be balanced.
Four University of Wisconsin System projects this year produced lower-than-expected bids resulting in a combined savings of almost $20 million.
The state Building Commission cut $17 million of that money when it approved a renovation to Carlson Hall at [...]

UW System’s choice: New or improved

Published: December 11, 2009
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By Paul Snyder
Energy efficiency is a threatened ideal as bare-bones UW System school budgets force a face-off between building upgrades and new construction.
“It most definitely is a problem, and it’s a gut-wrenching one,” said Terry Classen, director of facilities management at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. “You have people that work in buildings that need [...]

Bill would boost Building Commission membership

Published: December 2, 2009
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By Paul Snyder
A bill that would increase the number of state Building Commission members is facing criticism that more representation further frays the group’s commitment to checking politics at the door.
“Historically, the Building Commission has stayed out of politics and partisanship — until this year when (Democrats) have steamrolled us on every single issue,” said [...]

Bill would boost Building Commission membership

Published: November 30, 2009
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By Paul Snyder
Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Schofield, and Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan, D-Janesville, have introduced a bill to add two more members to the state’s Building Commission.
According to Sheridan’s spokeswoman, Rebekah Sweeney, Sheridan said the bill is a result of both lawmakers deciding the commission needs more representation.
But state Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, who [...]

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THIS MONTH'S WISCONSIN BUILDER



The tree architect

Roald Gundersen’s ideas are as big as the trees he shinnies up like a man half his age. The Stoddard-based “tree architect” wants to take wood construction far beyond the rustic cottages with which people associate him, but first he has to convince builders and architects of trees’ potential. Caley Clinton heads to western Wisconsin to see what future the forest holds.

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