State seeks MEP bids for $420M UW-Madison engineering building

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With the former engineering building demolished, the state is preparing to build a massive, modern engineering center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

As it prepares for the next phase of construction, the state must take another crucial step.

The Wisconsin Department of Administration‘s Department of Facilities Development posted a bid package for mechanical, engineering, plumbing and fire protection contractors, which is scheduled to open Oct. 29. Madison-based Findorff is the construction manager for the more than $400 million, 395,000-square-foot Phillip A. Levy Engineering Hall, which will replace the outdated engineering building after years of anticipation.

In April, an official groundbreaking was held for the University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering’s new building on 2.5 acres of the engineering campus. The facility was named by brothers and UW-Madison alumni Marvin and Jeffrey Levy, who donated $75 million to the project, in memory of their older brother and alumnus Phil. The new building will raise the engineering program’s capacity by 1,000 more undergraduates, UW-Madison officials said.

The project will feature an eight-story building with a mechanical penthouse, modern classrooms and instructional laboratories, research laboratories, shared collaboration and support spaces, and offices. The new space is meant to accommodate growth in undergraduate and graduate students and faculty at the College of Engineering.

The project construction schedule will be finalized once MEP bids are received and contracts are in place, said Tatyana Warrick, spokesperson for the Department of Administration. Substantial completion of the new engineering building is anticipated for December 2028, according to an early schedule.

In January, the State Building Commission approved a total project budget of $419.8 million for a new engineering building. That included more than $310.4 million in construction costs. The MEP bid at the end of October was set at more than $89.5 million.

This fall, the state released its second bid package for mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection work for the new building, DOA officials said. Mobilization for MEP work will start in December 2025, they added.

In April, the first bid package was sent for earthwork, structural steel, concrete footings and foundation, officials said. The state issued a demolition contract on April 3, with the teardown of the 1410 Building the first phase of project work. The work was completed in August 2025, they added.

The construction manager will deliver a third bid package in November 2025 for finishes, doors and windows, officials said.

The existing 1410 Building has been demolished, and Findorff crews have begun clearing the site and excavation, officials said. Footing and foundation work is scheduled to start in November 2025, they added.

The architectural and engineering team includes Continuum Architects + Planners, SmithGroup and Ring & Duchateau.