State awards MEP bids for $48M Kohl Center renovation, addition

Listen to this article

State officials have picked three contractors to perform more than $10 million in MEP work on an expansion and renovation of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Kohl Center.

The state Department of Administration awarded contracts to three firms for plumbing, electrical and fire suppression contracts last week. Nickles Electric, of Madison, will perform a $6.5 million electrical contract. North American Mechanical, of Windsor, won a $4.3 million project for plumbing and HVAC work. And Hooper Corp., of DeForest, will do fire suppression work for $462,649.

The bids are part of a $48 million project to expand and renovate UW-Madison‘s Kohl Center, which houses the school’s basketball, hockey and diving programs. The project will add 40,000 square feet of space over a loading dock to provide the building with more room for athletic and academic services and offices for staff.

The Kohl Center is also a media hub for athletics at UW-Madison, and the project will provide more room for media in the building. Separately, it will set aside more space for sports and nutritional medicine. The building’s redesigned weight room will have 10,000 square feet, tripling its current size.

The State Building Commission approved the project in August. Work on the Kohl Center is expected to wrap up in 2024. Follow @natebeck9