University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee plans to demolish radio tower on top of Sandburg North Tower

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee recently sought bids to demolish and scrap the more than 200-foot radio tower on top of the North Tower at Sandburg Residence Hall, records from The Daily Reporter’s Wisconsin Project Center showed. The steel angle truss radio tower, built in 1992, has been used by both private owners and the university.

The university planned to demolish the aging tower as early as 2016 and has no plans to replace it, UWM Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities, Planning and Management Melissa Spadanuda told The Daily Reporter. A contractor hasn’t been announced yet, but bids were due Tuesday.

“This is a project where we evaluated all the options, and we have to be careful with our resources. We worked closely with the users of the tower to make sure they have solutions. We think this is a win-win for everyone for long-term maintenance and efficient use of state resources,” Spadanuda said.

Some of the rooftop equipment had been abandoned or taken off the tower and placed elsewhere on the rooftop, Spadanuda said. The rooftop houses equipment for the university’s radio amateur club and law enforcement as well.

Among the antenna’s users are the Milwaukee Area Amateur Radio Society (MAARS) which selected Sandburg as its main site. The group’s radio frequencies reach out as far as western Waukesha and eastern Jefferson counties, but removing the antenna could sever some coverage, MAARS officials told The Daily Reporter.

“We are currently in discussions with UWM regarding relocating our amateur radio antenna to the roof level of Sandburg Residence Hall. The tower has been in place since the early 1970s, and we have been a tenant by having our radio antenna on the tower since 1981,” MAARS President Dave Schank said in a statement.

The radio group hopes to maintain the same level of service in Southeastern Wisconsin with the antenna gone, Schank added.

Crews will need to deenergize power to the antenna and remove wiring from source distribution panels as well as the associated conduit, Department of Administration (DOA) documents showed. They would also need to remove and dispose of deactivated dish, pizza box and mast antennas, and then seal the concrete where the steel tower connects to the roof.

University officials said they would share more information on the work as bids come in.

The North, West and South towers at Sandburg Residence Hall were built in 1970, the university’s website showed. The radio tower on top of North tower is around 260 feet tall on top of a 265-foot-tall building, DOA documents showed.