Falk obtains building permit

Listen to this article

The structural damage to the Falk Corp. manufacturing plant suffered in a Dec. 6 propane explosion cannot be repaired overnight.
Rexnord Corp., the owner of Falk, pulled a $250,000 construction permit from the city of Milwaukee on Feb. 20 to complement repair work that is already under way at the Menomonee Valley plant.
But that is just the beginning of a reconstruction effort that is expected to last into 2008.
“We are engaged in the repair of buildings that had damage due to the explosion,” said Linda Mayer, spokesperson for Rexnord. “We expect to be involved in the process of repair as well as new construction for at least the next year.”
Meyer refused to give specifics about the repair projects, but she and Falk President David Doerr both noted that everything destroyed or damaged in the explosion would be replaced or repaired.
“It’s an ongoing process to repair the buildings that were damaged and to reconstruct the capabilities that we lost in the explosion,” said Mayer.
Several of Falk’s buildings and systems were damaged in the explosion that killed three men and injured 46 others. The 61-acre Falk property contains 1.5 million square feet of buildings.

Mortenson on job

The explosion occurred in a joint building that consisted of a warehouse, called the Annex, and an adjacent maintenance building for the propane tanks. Both structures, which combined covered 50,000 square feet, were destroyed so there is plenty of reconstruction work to be done.
M. A. Mortenson, Brookfield, is managing the $250,000 repair job.
The blast also heavily damaged buildings in a radius of about 500 feet from the Annex, including torn roofs and blown-out walls. However, buildings further away from the source of the explosion were determined to be structurally sound.
Since the explosion, Rexnord has received building permits for new electrical work ($100,000), plumbing repair ($15,000), storage-tank installation ($10,000) and a $2.5 million asbestos-removal project by Robinson Brothers Environmental Inc. of Waunakee.
Jim Scherer, an official in the Department of City Development, said the explosion could slightly affect the $1.5 million tax incremental financing district the city granted Falk for site work and infrastructure associated with the Canal Street expansion project if the property drops significantly in value.
Scherer, however, would not know the actual effect until the state releases its assessment of the Falk property in September. Scherer added that the TIF district could be used to finance reconstruction necessitated by the explosion, but that Falk had not yet contacted the city to do so.
“(Falk is) aware of the fact that that is available,” said Scherer. “But at this point, they are just trying to get their operations in order.”
The TIF district was developer-funded, meaning the owner took the upfront monetary risk and is only paid back by the city through future tax revenue generated in the district. The Falk property was assessed at $5,683,500 in early 2006.
Falk, a large gear manufacturer, resumed shipping products by Dec. 20. The explosion has cost Rexnord more than $40 million in damage and lost sales, although Falk is insured for up to $2 billion per incident.
The families of the three men who died in the explosion have filed suit against mechanical contractor J.M. Brennan Inc., who installed Falk’s propane pipelines, for an undisclosed amount of punitive damages, claiming Brennan was responsible for the leaks.