New facade bids on tap for O’Donnell

By Jack Zemlicka

• O’Donnell Park Parking Structure Repairs, Project No. O114-11416, 910 E. Michigan St., Milwaukee • O’Donnell Park Parking Structure Improvements, Project No. O114-11415-2, 910 E. Michigan St., Milwaukee • AWARDED: O’Donnell Park Parking Structure Facade Removal, Project No. O114-11415, 910 E. Michigan St., Milwaukee

Purely aesthetic panels could cost Milwaukee County an extra $600,000 for work on the O’Donnell Park parking garage.

But with the garage set to reopen July 1 and with little direction from the Milwaukee County Board at this time, county officials are moving ahead with a request for bids to replace the problematic concrete panels with lighter aluminum ones, said Jack Takerian, Milwaukee County director of transportation and public works.

“The only guarantee I can give right now is that repairs are going to be made to the exterior without anything going on the exterior,” he said. “The alternative is just something else we’ll look at.”

Takerian said he prefers fixing the garage without new panels to avoid further public scrutiny of the project. The work is part of repairs to the structure following last summer’s accident in which a 13 1/2-ton panel fell from the facade, killing 15-year-old Greenfield resident Jared Kellner and injuring two others.

The garage has been closed since June 24.

“I’ve been clear all along that if we can get away with going with no panels at all, I’m good with that,” Takerian said. “I would never propose an alternative that would duplicate anything like what we have there now.”

The county expects to lose $1.5 million, or approximately $100,000 a month, while the structure is closed.

If the board chooses to replace the paneling, Takerian said, he doesn’t want to waste time bidding that work closer to the structure’s reopening date. The board has given no indication it will opt for the panel replacement, however, he said.

Replacement of existing panels isn’t necessary, Takerian said, and the only reason the county is considering doing so is for aesthetic appeal. The cost of panel replacement would be on top of the $6 million to simply repair the garage, he said.

The aluminum panels should alleviate some public concern about safety, Takerian said, because they’re lighter than the existing concrete panels. Replacement panels would each weigh “a couple hundred pounds” compared to the current panels, which weigh about 27,000 pounds each, he said.

“One panel could be put into place with two people physically lifting it,” Takerian said.

Larry Rocole, vice president of J.P. Cullen & Sons Inc., Janesville, said he does not know if his company would bid on the panel replacement work. Cullen this month landed a $538,433 contract to remove the existing panels in coming weeks.

Rocole acknowledged public scrutiny associated with the installation of new panels would be a factor in whether the company bids on the job.

Two separate lawsuits tied to the accident last summer are pending against four contractors involved in the original construction of the garage.

“I would say (public scrutiny) will be part of the decision-making process,” Rocole said.