Nearly 750 of the construction industry’s leaders were in attendance Thursday night in Milwaukee for The Daily Reporter’s 17th annual Top Projects of 2015 event.
Forty projects from around the state were honored, including the massive Zoo Interchange project, the Hoan Bridge, the Cana Island Light Station in Door County and an addition and a renovation of the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Top Projects of 2015 – Best in Show
This year’s Top Projects of 2015 Best in Show award goes to the Advanced Care Center at Froedtert Hospital & the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Beaumont Place development turns into ‘a cool thing’
The chance to work on a residential redevelopment in Whitefish Bay and do some infill construction in the village all proved to be too much of an opportunity to pass up for Greenfire Management Services.
Restoration guides Cana lighthouse through shoals of disrepair
Perched near the tip of Door County, the Cana Island Lighthouse has helped guide ships from its perch near the tip of Door County since being built in 1869.
Carthage’s Straz Center earns an ‘A’
For Riley Construction project manager Paul Miller, it’s the details — whether they’re the light fixtures that resemble molecules or the DNA-like pattern on the carpet — that set apart the remodeling and expansion project at Carthage College’s David A. Straz Center for the Natural Sciences.
Century City development replaces century-old parking lot
Although once home to industry giants A.O. Smith and Tower Automotive, the site of the new Century City 1 industrial development had been a parking lot for nearly 100 years.
Teamwork, communication help massive project come together quickly
Justin Gelhausen of Wall-tech is still amazed at just how quickly the enormous Christian Education Leadership Academy came together.
Time flies for Dane County airport project
Expansions of parking structures tend to be straight-forward projects.
Hematology, oncology center gives patients a non-hospital feel
The new Fox Valley Hematology & Oncology Center was built as a one-stop home away from home for those in need of cancer and blood-disorder treatments.
Froedtert Advanced Care Center overcomes plan changes, weather
Change might be a good thing. But that doesn’t mean it’s not difficult.
For C.D. Smith, baggage claim rebuild is in the bag
There’s working in phases. And then there’s working in phases within phases — a lesson Dane Bernau and his crew learned when they remodeled the General Mitchell International Airport baggage claim.
Urban look, challenging site sets HarborChase apart
HarborChase of Shorewood doesn’t look like the typical assisted-living and memory-care clinic … and that’s exactly the point.
Hilldale Shopping Center project kept business moving
Maintaining access to businesses was one of the biggest tasks for the contractors working on the Hilldale Shopping Center redevelopment project in Madison.
Crews hone skills on Hoan Bridge project
The finished Interstate 794 Lake Freeway, including a renovated Hoan Bridge, is the result of more than 1 million hours of labor, nearly 900 bidding opportunities and almost 3,200 pages of plans.
Renovation project brings it all together for Kohl’s
As part of an effort to centralize a large number of staff members working in various offices, Menomonee Falls-based Kohl’s Corp. looked to an existing manufacturing building and began drafting plans to renovate it.
Writing’s on the wall at Kromrey Middle School
When community members of the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District approved a referendum that called for putting $50 million toward addition and renovation work, they knew they’d essentially be getting a new Kromrey Middle School.
Crews deliver on-time arrival for La Crosse airport renovation
Construction crews are always up against a few obstacles when they are asked to overhaul a commercial building while its owners work to keep everything humming away inside.
Norwegian Heritage Center embraces both modern, traditional look
For the architect Kirk Lundgren, designing Livsreise: Norwegian Heritage Center in downtown Stoughton was a journey.
MACC Fund Center project a breath of fresh air
There was a big to-do list at the MACC Fund Center, which treats children suffering from cancer and blood disorders.
Museum redo, addition is a piece of art
Take a proposed addition, plans for a renovation, two immediately recognizable existing buildings and add water.
Summerfest comes out of shadows with new administration building
With the reconstruction of Interstate 794 getting underway above them, officials at Milwaukee World Festival Inc. decided to break ground on a project of their own.
Here’s the church, here’s the new addition
Northbrook Church in the village of Richfield doesn’t look like what many would picture as a typical building of worship.
Drexel Town Square work proceeds above remnants of old buildings
Kevin Day and his crew weren’t about to let a little buried concrete bother them when working on Oak Creek’s Drexel Town Square development.
PSG Inc. delivers on WVA Inc.’s headquarters
Officials at the optical-supply distributor WVA Inc. presented PSG Inc. with quite the challenge for their new headquarters.
Palace Cinema provides model for future Marcus theaters
With the Palace Cinema, film fans got more than the latest and greatest in movie-going accommodations.
Posner Building renovations hit home
Renovations at the former Posner Building offered more than an opportunity to spruce up a prime example of historic architecture.
Kraemer Bros. pulls out all stops for biochemistry ‘mega’ project
Their mission — and the Kraemer Brothers team gladly accepted it — was to build a 100,000-square-foot distribution center for a leader in the biochemistry and molecular-biology industries.
Rogers Memorial Hospital design creates healing environment
When Rogers Memorial Hospital looked to renovate an existing structure and open a new acute-care center in Brown Deer, it sought to remove the building’s institutional look and create a soothing, healing environment.
Sojourner Family Peace Center about more than a building
The Sojourner Family Peace Center proved that a construction project is sometimes about more than a building.
St. Ann Center project includes it all, even kitchen sink
When talking about the new St. Ann Center Integrational Care Bucyrus campus, it’s easier to list what didn’t go into the project.
Candy factory sweet spot for Brix Apartment project
When crews arrived at the Brix Apartment site, they weren’t exactly sure what they might find — or what they might want to keep from the former candy factory.
Molasses doesn’t slow work on The Charmant
From trading post to candy factory to furniture store and, now, boutique hotel —The Charmant Hotel in La Crosse has seen a lot of life since being built in 1898.
Domain apartments could have sunk, instead soars
Code conflicts led to some clever redesigning of The Domain apartment complex in Madison.
ThedaCare project just what the doctor ordered
It’s not often that construction crews have to worry about shaking up an operating room.
Check it out: Tippecanoe library renovation incorporates latest technology
Simultaneous exterior and interior construction complicated staging for the first major renovation of the Milwaukee Public Library System’s Tippecanoe Branch since it was built in 1969.
Kenwood complex gives UWM flair for dramatics
David Albrecht never guessed that a greenhouse could determine the course of construction at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s new Kenwood Interdisciplinary Research Complex.
ProHealth Care project brings it all under one roof
As part of ProHealth Care’s work to improve the health of its patients in Waukesha and surrounding places, the company pursued a new outpatient cancer center that would bring its various services under one roof.
UW Health breaks mold with American Center campus
UW Health at The American Center isn’t a hospital.
Pritzlaff building proves to be historic challenge
It wasn’t easy to resurrect the boarded-up relic crews inherited with the Ward 4 project.
West Allis industrial project satisfies pent-up demand for space
The redevelopment of the former Yellow Freight site in West Allis was so successful, crewmembers began working on an expansion as soon as their initial work on the building was finished.
Zoo Interchange crews drive project home, even during harsh winter
The Watertown Plank Road interchange is just a piece of the massive puzzle that is the Zoo Interchange overhaul.
- (Staff Photo by Kevin Harnack)
- (Staff Photo by Kevin Harnack)
- (Staff Photo by Kevin Harnack)
- (Staff Photo by Kevin Harnack)
- (Staff Photo by Kevin Harnack)
- (Staff Photo by Kevin Harnack)
- (Staff Photo by Kevin Harnack)
- (Staff Photo by Kevin Harnack)
- (Staff Photo by Kevin Harnack)
- (Staff Photo by Kevin Harnack)
- (Staff Photo by Kevin Harnack)