Miron awarded $21M bid for Madison men’s shelter

Neenah-based Miron Construction will build the city of Madison’s first men’s homeless shelter after winning the low bid.

City officials on July 8 announced Miron submitted a low bid of $21.4 million with a 8% maximum construction contingency of $1.7 million, for a total of $23.1 million.

The city, Dane County and nonprofit Porchlight Inc. plan the 40,000-square-foot shelter for 1904 Bartillon Drive. The building will house 250 men who are experiencing homelessness in a place specifically designed to meet their needs, officials said. Previously, shelters operated through church basements and renovated spaces.

“This is the culmination of much hard work and collaboration between the city and county, with valuable input from local stakeholders and people with lived experience,” said Jim O’Keefe, the community development director of Madison. “The new shelter will become a long-overdue community asset and we now look to the larger community to play an active role in ensuring its long-term success,” he added.

Miron won the project over Riley Construction, which bid a total of $22 million; Joe Daniels Construction Co., which bid $23.1 million; and Tri-North Builders, which bid $24.1 million.

Miron’s bid was more than $2 million over the city’s budget of $19.3 million. However, the city chose not to re-bid the project to prevent delays and increases in construction costs.

The Madison Common Council approved the plan at a meeting on July 2 to use $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to get the project off the ground, officials said. The city moved funds that were previously allocated to a youth-focused affordable housing development at 1202 S. Park St., officials added.

That project will be supported with $2 million federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program funds, and officials said both projects won’t have a net impact on the city budget.

The project is funded with $13.5 million of city sources, including $8 million of borrowing, $10.5 million from Dane County and $3 million in federal funds.

Construction of the men’s shelter will start later this summer and is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2025, officials added.