Top Projects Completed 6

Bayshore Town Center

Cost: $300 Million

Bayshore Mall in Glendale, Wis., was originally built in 1958 and reconstructed in the 1970s.

The new Bayshore Town Center emerged from construction in time for the 2006 Christmas season as a retail/dining/entertainment destination.

The indoor mall ruled the shopping world until the mid-1990s, when New Urbanist thinking led to open-air malls called "lifestyle centers" or "town centers." With these centers, developers strive to create the feel and function of a small-town Main Street.

Part of this latest trend in mall construction is the idea of a mall being a destination for more than just shopping.

Development Has 'Streets'

Bayshore has large buildings, including a reworked incarnation of the existing mall and several parking structures that surround several open-air "town" streets and a "town square," complete with a fountain.

Issues included a tight, 47-acre site, 22-month schedule, proximity to a residential neighborhood and the fact that the mall had to remain open through construction.

Keeping the mall open was an enormous task. On the south end of the existing structure, half of the building had to be demolished while half of it remained operational. A corridor in the center of the old structure was the dividing line between what stayed and what went.

Crews turned that former corridor into a tunnel-like, interior walkway that protected shoppers and connected the south-end stores to the rest of the mall.

At night, after patrons and employees were gone from the mall, construction crews would remove the floor of the tunnel walkway and pour new foundations and perform utility work. All equipment had to be cleared from the space and the floor set back in place in time for the mall to open for business the following morning.

A residential neighborhood immediately east of the Bayshore site presented additional concerns.

Hunzinger went with a quiet, auger-cast system in which an auger drills down to the required depth. Concrete is then poured through the auger, the auger is removed and the concrete settles down into place.

In addition to keeping parking areas open for mall patrons, foot traffic was also an issue.

Shoppers would try and get by fencing systems to walk through the construction and get to another part of the mall. A lot of security was needed to protect the public from itself.

Top Projects Completed 7

Dan Ryan Red Line Reconstruction

Cost: $294 Million

It was not easy working on a commuter rail line in an urban environment, particularly when a portion of it is running down the middle of a busy interstate highway.

Such was life on the Chicago Transit Authority's Dan Ryan Red Line rehabilitation project. Work was divided into three phases:

Coordination Was Key

The Illinois Department of Transportation rehabilitated the Dan Ryan Expressway at the same time, and the construction schedules between it and the CTA project were carefully coordinated.

The interstate and Red Line trains, which run 24 hours every day of the year, could not be taken out of service during the project. There was no site for laydown and staging, no logical access to the work area and only tiny windows of time between trains in which to accomplish the work. Run-around track was built on the shoulder of the Dan Ryan.

Getting various agencies onboard and interstate traffic moved over to accommodate the closed shoulder was an enormous task, but the run-arounds created an area in which crews could work safely.

Several storage yards were set up nearby, and as much material as possible was prefabricated in the yards so that it could be delivered to the site and set in place immediately, McCue said.

Two small tamping machines were brought in off the shoulder and set in place on the tracks. Two different gradations of crushed limestone were laid as bedding before the tracks could go in place.

Getting equipment and materials to the site raised one of the project's biggest safety concerns.

Concrete barriers with extensions were put in place to protect the CTA trains and workers from interstate traffic.

Top Projects Completed 8

French Lick Springs Resort & Casino

Cost: $282 Million

Indiana's French Lick is returning to its former grandeur as a celebrated resort area but with modern flair.

The project encompasses the hotel, golf courses and golf school, restaurants, spa and convention center. The project also includes sister West Baden Springs Resort nearby.

The hotels, which were built at the turn of the 20th Century, were restored and renovated. Other work includes building an 80,000-sq-ft casino; 110,000-sq-ft convention center; and 800-car parking garage. The Donald Ross golf course, which dates to 1920, was also restored to its original design.

The history of Southern Indiana's Orange County dates to the mid-1800s when a couple of enterprising physicians capitalized on nearby mineral springs whose waters were said to have medicinal benefits. Over the decades, hotels were built with increasing luxury, and they drew prominent patrons from around the country, such as President Franklin Roosevelt.

By the 1970s, financial difficulties, ownership changes and deterioration had set in. In 2005 Blue Sky Casino LLC took over as the new, energized owner.

It is a joint venture of Lauth Resorts & Casino LLC, an affiliate of Lauth Group Inc. in Indianapolis, and Orange County Holdings Inc., formed by Cook Group Inc. in Bloomington, Ind.

A Beaux Arts Beauty

The 440-room French Lick Hotel, designed in the ornate architectural style, had not seen serious attention inside or out since the late 1970s. The plans include replacing bathrooms, enlarging guest rooms and adding a $2 million sprinkler system.

Time-consuming and detailed restoration of the public areas included replicating plaster ornamentation and restoring aged gold leaf. Tens of thousands of tiny floor tiles are being chiseled out and replaced.

A surprise was discovered after the immense lobby columns were stripped of 10 layers of paint. Underneath was scagliola, a thin plaster made from dyed silk and polished to a marble-like sheen. Only a handful of people know how to repair it.

The hotel suspended operations during construction, but its employees, who number in the hundreds, were paid wages and benefits until being called back.

About $4.5 million was spent to sustain them.

The new buildings complement the existing architecture and also integrate the resources of the area.

Design elements such as belt courses and radius windows are adaptations from the hotel. Native Indiana limestone trims and precast concrete panels are a tribute to local industry: Limestone from nearby Benford, Ind., is known throughout the world.

Top Projects Completed 9

Schaumburg Convention Center and Hotel

Cost: $249 Million

A negative site was turned into a positive setting for the Schaumburg Convention Center and Hotel.

The facility in the suburb 25 mi northwest of Chicago is located in a low-lying floodplain northeast of the juncture of Meacham Road and the Northwest Tollway. Three major facilities will comprise the complex: the convention center on the site's south, the Marriott Renaissance Hotel in the center and a performing arts center-an element not yet started-on the north.

Excavated ponds were incorporated into the design plans, and they provide water retention and some drainage.

More important, the design aim of the ponds and accompanying landscaping in front of the hotel is to give visitors the impression that they are entering a resort.

Amplifying the theme of a grand entry is an extraordinary aesthetic element in circular shape called the "embrace."

The bottom of the 550-ft-diameter feature is 15 ft. above ground and is made of two column-supported, 8-ft-tall, 2-ft-deep arcs, one north of the hotel entrance and the other south of the entrance. Between the arcs are entry and exit roads, in addition to the ponds and landscaping. The embrace allows the water and prairie-style, landscaped site to become an outdoor room.

Another key aesthetic element is an elliptical porte-cochere shelter that will protect guests and vehicles from the elements.

The porte-cochere and embrace are circular, while the convention center and hotel are rectangular, thus providing contrast and composition.

The high style continues inside the Marriott hotel, where guests will encounter upscale touches and finishes. For instance, the lobby houses a pair of curved grand staircases that provide a dramatic first impression.

Seeking Village Funds

The complex about five minutes' drive north of the Woodfield Shopping Center is being built partly to help increase village revenue and drive business.

Schaumburg does not levee property taxes but rather relies on assessments against hotels, sales, food and similar things to fund operations.

The 350,000-sq-ft convention center holds a 100,000-sq-ft exhibit hall that can be divided into separate halls.

The convention center connects to the 15-story, 500-room hotel. The complex has a 1,700-space surface parking lot.

Top Projects Completed 10

Lower Meramec River Wastewater Treatment Plant

Cost: $230 Million

When the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District was formed in 1954, it was charged with the responsibility of consolidating more than 70 formerly independent wastewater districts.

More than 50 years later, the MSSD is continuing those efforts with the Lower Meramec River Wastewater Treatment Plant southwest of St. Louis.

The plant is replacing two existing open lagoon treatment plants, the Meramec and Baumgartner facilities. The plant will divert treated water, which currently flows to the Meramec, into the Mississippi. The project required miles of tunnels through rock and wetlands.

Being a Good Neighbor

The area around the plant has seen tremendous development in recent years, creating thousands of new neighbors. Concerns about odor affecting nearby residents, including pupils at a grade school, led to a design that would keep sewage underground or otherwise enclosed on the plant site, rather than running through open channels.

Noise and traffic were also concerns. During preparation of the 203-acre site, crews created a new access entrance to help alleviate strain on local roads.

The site lies within a floodplain, so crews brought in about 850,000 cu yd of engineered structural fill to elevate the footprint of the new plant. An additional 370,000 cu yd of fill was added to another area where future expansions will take place.

The main components of the plant include a three-story process building, a secondary treatment building, two primary clarifiers, two trickling filters and two secondary clarifiers. The main process plant is designed in brick and glass with a steel structure.

Sewage will flow through the 90-ft-diameter primary clarifiers to the 150-ft-diameter secondary clarifiers and the covered 120-ft-diameter trickling filters.

The flow moves through a series of pipes with diameters up to 64 in. via an underground gallery that connects the structures.

The process plant itself is set on pilings that run an average of 90 ft into rock.

A 1.5-mi outfall sewer was built, which routes a 78-in.-diameter reinforced concrete pipe to the Mississippi. The sewer route, which reached as deep as 20 ft and went through wetlands, was open-cut, backfilled and restored. Mitigation included nearly 11 acres of wetlands planting.

Discharge is into the Mississippi because the Meramec is one of the most pristine and well-used rivers in Missouri.

Top Projects Completed 11

Sherman Plaza

Cost: $193 Million

The 28-story Sherman Plaza residential and retail development has added height to the skyline in north suburban Evanston.

The tower would have been the city's tallest, but early design changes took it just inches below the Chase Building. As it stands, it is the city's tallest residential building.

About a decade ago, city planners saw that the 30-year-old, 600-space public garage on the Sherman Avenue site needed work. Engineers said it should be torn down and rebuilt, leading to question about what else should be built, and Sherman Plaza was cobbled together. It is believed to be the highest-dollar mixed-use project in Evanston history.

Anchoring the project is the condominium tower, The Residences at Sherman Plaza, which houses 253 lofts, penthouses and condominiums. The units range in size from 900 sq. ft. to 4,000 sq. ft.

The tower connects to 152,000 sq. ft. of retail space on two levels and a 1,585-space public parking garage, creating an L-shaped footprint. All together, Sherman Plaza encompasses nearly a city block.

Construction of Sherman Plaza began in December 2004. There was no basement to excavate, but the caissons required drilling about 70 ft.

Underground were numerous and costly obstructions due to poor ground conditions and deep foundations of previous buildings on the site. "Potholing," which is making trial bores, helped locate obstructions near grade, but for deeper ones, crews had to widen their holes or try harder to get through.

In one case, the rock was impenetrable despite numerous attempts. Finally the decision was made to drill two additional caissons about 10 ft. on either side of the rock and to lay a bridge beam across them so that the column support could be put in as planned.

Seeking Human Scale

The enormity of the project, from a design standpoint, is visually scaled to human size.

Although basically a single, poured-in-place concrete building, the various areas of use stand at differing heights and sport differing facades. The first six floors and the entire retail center are clad in brick. The three penthouse floors, 23 through 25, are tiered like a wedding cake and ribboned with high-performance, floor-to-ceiling windows. They are crowned with a three-story mechanical penthouse. The silo-like garage elevator is encased in glass.

Rooftop gardens on the third, fifth and seventh floors are decked with trees, shrubs, grass and flowers and provide nearly half an acre of outdoor respite.

Top Projects Completed 12

Community Hospital North

Cost: $170 Million

Community Hospital North in Indianapolis completed an 850,000-sq-ft building expansion and renovation project to meet growing demand for services.

The project involved three new structures-a six-story patient tower, six-story parking garage and five-story medical office building. It also included some renovations of existing buildings.

Over the last four years at Community Hospital North, admissions increased by nearly 7%. Emergency visits have grown by almost 9.5%, and births have risen by more than 4%. The hospital averages more than 1,000 daily patients.

The project more than doubled the size of the hospital, adding 282 private patient rooms, with space for 48 more rooms in the future. Linked to the hospital will be the professional office building and the 1,000-space parking garage. The structures are connected in a circular fashion.

The exterior has a circular feel, rather than the more typical square appearance of hospitals. The skin will also provide a high-tech look because of the geometry of the forms inside and out and materials that include curtain wall and metal.

Some of exterior is brick to match the existing hospital. The parking garage, which is also curved, is covered with stainless steel.

Most o the new structure was built on top of an existing surface parking lot, which was taken out before construction started in third-quarter 2004.

The Art of Design

The project's centerpiece is the new patient tower. A large, sunlit gallery serves as the main entrance, and the entrance is referred to as a gallery because it is designed to look and feel like an art gallery. Patients and visitors can peruse art, and the hospital has commissioned 30 original art pieces, both paintings and sculpture, from local artists.

Inside the main tower are two atria with skylights that are 40-ft square.

Also inside the main building is a set of elevators that provide access to the upper levels, which house 48 private medical/surgical suites and three floors of new space for mothers and babies. Upper floors include 60 labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum rooms, allowing new mothers to remain in one place throughout their stay.

The main building features private registration and billing areas. Every surgical patient has a private room before surgery and for recovery. Advanced technology was included throughout, including wireless Internet, electronic medical records, digital imaging and computers near patients' rooms for staff members.

Top Projects Completed 13

Winnebago County Justice Center

Cost: $150 Million

The existing jail and justice facilities in Rockford, Ill., were aging and overcrowded, so work started on the replacement Winnebago County Justice Center.

The biggest issue was the sequencing of the jail buildings' monolithic, pan-slab concrete structure, says John Hammer, senior project manager with the Chicago office of New York-based Bovis Lend Lease Inc., the contractor.

This involved setting 609 precast modular, double-stacked jails. The jail's monolithic concrete structure was erected in six clockwise phased pours per level, and the precast concrete modular cells were set within the concrete structure erection sequencing.

Levels three and four have double-stacked precast modular cell units, and Level Two has a single stack arrangement.

Detailed scheduling of the sequencing was key to the success of the project, Hammer says.

The three-story court with lower level has four courtrooms. The four-story jail with lower level service facility has loading docks, kitchen, laundry, and under-structure parking.

The court and jail are connected with a three-hour-rated wall separating the independent structures. A link connects a power plant and jail and also services the court.

The jail is monolithic pan-slab concrete, and the court is steel framed with concrete floors on metal deck, Hammer says. Both the court and jail are enclosed with architectural precast.

Saving Local Church

A downtown location at the corner of Winnebago and State streets was selected to ease fears about eh status of the city's second-oldest Roman Catholic Church, St. Mary Oratory. Fifty-two parcels of land were purchased to create the 12-acre site to avoid threatening the future of the church.

In addition to the 1,212-bed jail, the 600,000-sq-ft facility holds the offices of the county sheriff, state's attorney, public defender and court service departments.

The project also included an underground tunnel to connect it to the nearby Public Safety Building and underground parking.

Top Projects Completed 14

The Regatta

Cost: $140 Million

The 44-story Regatta condominium tower in Chicago is part of the 16-highrise Lakeshore East development immediately adjacent to Lake Shore Drive.

The 690,000-sq.-ft. Regatta will have 321 condominium units. The location allows views of Lake Michigan and the Loop.

The building was designed with some distinctive architectural features to make it stand out among the large number of residential structures-a key strategy in the high-end condominium market.

For instance, variety was introduced into the project's appearance through a number of methods.

Curtain wall dresses the main facade, but a substantial amount of masonry makes up the east and west facades.

An aesthetic element resembling a sail rises about 20 to 30 ft. from the building top and will be backlit. The spandrel glass element, which will hide mechanical equipment, reinforces the building's nautical theme.

Small Structure Nearby

Plans also call for a 12-story structure, dubbed the "Bustle Building," to connect to the main building so that the project's size is not overwhelming. It also gives a different view for homeowners who do not want to live in a big tower.

A green space will be atop the Bustle and in a plaza to serve the entire Lakeshore East development.

Space inside the main structure and Bustle will provide 360 parking spaces.
Amenities include a swimming pool with locker rooms on the second floor, a media room where movies can be viewed and a community room with fireplace.

The first level will have about 8,000 sq. ft. of retail space, and an aim is to lease a portion to a restaurant.

Sitework was an issue in the project's early going, because, in part, Lake Shore Drive and boat slips had once been located nearby.

Because of the accumulation of debris, transfer beams were installed to shift pressure from the obstructions, Bullard said.

The project was close to Wacker Drive, so crews had to be careful not to interfere with existing caissons and columns.

Top Projects Completed 15

St. John's Mercy Heart Hospital

Cost: $140 Million

The 350,000-sq.-ft., nine-level St. John's Mercy Heart Hospital is connected to existing facilities on the St. John's campus and will incorporate a number of uses.

In addition to cardiac care, these include pediatric and adult emergency areas and a kitchen. Several doctors have leased space.

Two of the heart hospital building's nine floors are below grade. The lowest level will include emergency-department office space along with the kitchen, which will serve not just the heart hospital but also many St. John's patients elsewhere on campus. One floor up will be five operating rooms, 25 prep/hold/recovery rooms, four catheterization labs and an endovascular room.

The new emergency department is housed in the first floor above ground and replaces the existing St. John's Mercy emergency department.

On the second floor, tenant space will include more catheterization labs.

Floors three through five include the heart hospital's patient rooms, with 32 private rooms on each floor. The sixth floor is to include a rehab gym area, children's heart area and noninvasive cardio suite. Leased tenant space will fill the top floor.

Concrete provides the building's structure, with steel used in the penthouse.

The new heart hospital is clad in precast and brick.

Site Also Developed

The overall project also includes a fair amount of site development.

For example, the relocation of the emergency department required construction of a helicopter pad.

The St. John's Mercy Heart Hospital project has brought plenty of challenges relating to mechanical, electrical and plumbing installation.

Joining the usual plumbing, ductwork, electrical and fire-protection systems in the interstitial space are lines supplying oxygen, nitrous oxide and vacuum.

The heart hospital also required more than its share of communications cabling because images and medical records are to be collected, stored and shared digitally. That means, among other things, computers and network connections in all patient rooms.

St. John's Mercy Heart Hospital will put a premium on patient and visitor comfort.

It has a hotel feel, with stone walls in the lobby, terrazzo floors and cherry wood paneling. Some of those elements work their way into the rest of the hospital.

In addition, the patient areas were designed to be hotel-like with a more restful setting. The patient floors each have a center hallway for the noisiest, high-traffic uses, plus two carpeted outer hallways that provide access to the patient rooms.

Top Projects Completed 16

Translational and Biomedical Research Center

Cost: $138 Million

Two heads proved better than one when the Medical College of Wisconsin and the Children's Research Center joined forces to create the 310,000-sq-ft Translational and Biomedical Research Center on the grounds of the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center.

The structure features three floors of laboratory space and two floors of vivarium space. The project broke ground in January 2005 and was completed in December 2006.

The structure was designed to accommodate approximately 80 researchers and physicians. It contains space devoted to molecular critical care; developmental vascular biology; pediatric surgery; the Children's Kidney Disease Research Program; the Individualized Medicine Institute; pathological/vascular anomalies; and clinical pharmacology, pharmacogenetics and teratology.

It will also house major research programs, such as The Cancer Center; Biotechnology and Bioengineering Center; Center for Biopreparedness and Infectious Diseases; and Structural Biology.

Dealing with Complexity

Adam Jelen, senior project manager for Gilbane Building Co., the contractor, said there were many project issues. These included a fast-track schedule, research space complexity, dual ownership, site restrictions and utility relocations as some of the project's most significant challenges.

The structure was located above an existing utilities corridor that included a steam tunnel, 30-in., chilled water mains, electrical utility duct bank, a water main and sewer mains.

In addition, the research spaces required extremely complex HVAC systems, including layers of ductwork and piping. Mockups were used to choreograph construction of these areas.

The entire project had to be completed while treading lightly and monitoring sound and vibration levels to avoid disrupting ongoing research in adjacent buildings.

"What made the project a success is the dynamic, integrated approach by all team members, including early contractor procurement, upfront, detailed coordination and fabrication," Jelen said.

Top Projects Completed 17

Westin North Shore

Cost: $131 Million

The four-star, 411-room Westin North Shore tops out at 15 stories and anchors a complex that will include retail and restaurant space, a bank and parking on a 21-acre site at the southeast corner of Lake-Cook Road and Milwaukee Avenue.

At 180 ft., it's the tallest building in Wheeling and just slightly higher than the area's next largest building - Riverwalk Office Plaza directly across Lake-Cook Road in Buffalo Grove.

The 15-story hotel will target small- to midsized corporate meetings and banquets and features large guest rooms and the latest wireless technology.

Other favorable conditions include proximity to office parks and suburban headquarter businesses.

The hotel features a grand ballroom that can accommodate 1,200 guests for a banquet or 1,500 people in stadium-style seating. In addition, there will be 40,000 sq. ft. of meeting space. The hotel's signature restaurant is slated to be a Japanese steakhouse.

There will be three restaurants in the hotel, three on parcels in front and inline retail shops near the hotel along Milwaukee Avenue.

Rooms will feature standard Westin finishes with higher-end finishes in the 30 suites. The building exceeds Westin's standards. For instance, Westin's standard room height is 8.4 ft., but this building features a 9-ft. height.

Tweaking Original Plans

Three years ago, Mid-America began assembling the site's four properties, which included a horse stable, vacant investment land, used car lot and Wonder/Hostess outlet. The site had a small amount of environmental issues that were cleaned up. The Village Board approved the proposal in spring 2004.

An 18-story, 225-ft.-tall hotel was originally proposed, but the initial plan exceeded the Federal Aviation Administration's height restrictions-the project is near Palwaukee Municipal Airport.

This required the floor plans to be redesigned, going from 441 rooms to the final number.

With the site close to the Des Plaines River, the construction team decided to use a 5-ft.-thick steel and concrete matt foundation instead of deep piles.

Also, since the building's height was reduced, it wasn't as heavy and was therefore more conducive to a matt foundation, which enabled construction to move quickly.

Top Projects Completed 18

Metropolis Shopping Center

Cost: $127 Million

Urban character distinguishes Premier Properties USA Inc.'s lifestyle center in Plainfield, Ind., from others.

The buildings are not themed in a way that would make them dated. The facility is open air tying in with an upscale downtown atmosphere.

Materials include metal panels, cast stone, brick, EFIS and glass. In addition to a variety of scales, the buildings are also taller than most outdoor lifestyle centers.

Two of the buildings have a second floor for the mall's offices, as well as 35,000 sq. ft. marketed for office use.

Lights, Sound, Action

A lot of that energetic spirit stems from the center's Futura Park Plaza where choreographers synchronized light-emitting-diode, color-changing lighting; music; and special effects with 30-ft.-high jets of water.

The LED images appear on pylons and on transparent wire mesh screens mounted on light framework several feet in front of the retail storefronts.

Patterned concrete block, urban landscaping and 28- to 38-ft.-tall steel towers housing lights and speakers surround the fountain.

Metropolis includes upscale retailers unique to Indianapolis' west side, including Ann Taylor Loft, Finish Line, Victoria's Secret, Lane Bryant, Kirkland's, Ulta, DSW, Jos. A. Banks, Coldwater Creek, Pacific Sunwear, Vera Bradley and Yankee Candle. The center's best-in-class restaurants include Stone Creek Dining Company and Claddagh's Irish Pub.

In total, Metropolis encompasses 12 buildings within 650,000 sq. ft., including anchors JCPenney, an 18-screen Rave Theatre and a two-level Dick's Sporting Goods.

Phase one included the central plaza, 150,000 sq. ft. of specialty retail space, 70,000 sq. ft. of office space, the movie theater and the sporting goods store on 75 acres. The four-building second phase completed Metropolis.

Across the street, Premier offers more pragmatic shopping at Plainfield Commons, which includes Target, Kohl's and Wal-Mart. Sometime in the next two years, Premier plans to expand the big-box center on a 70-acre site. Plainfield Commons 4 will include 228,000 sq. ft. within nine buildings.

Top Projects Completed 19

Microbial Sciences Building

Cost: $122 Million

Installing the systems required in modern laboratory buildings are frequently a complex issue.

The intricacies of the 330,000-sq-ft Microbial Sciences Building at the University of Wisconsin at Madison went beyond exhaust hoods.

The six-story structure was shoehorned around the campus' historic Hiram Smith Hall and built over a working electrical substation.

The facility had to meet post-Sept. 11 security requirements.

And, a design featuring an open environment was required so ideas could be exchanged and people could interact in the academic programs the building houses. These include bacteriology, medical microbiology and food microbiology. Because of these programs, the building houses a crystal growth chamber, vivarium and research kitchen.
|
The university has big hopes for the building. It is intended to keep the school competitive and attract top-drawer faculty and students capable of puling in research grants.

Dealing with Soils

Site issues included an area of poor soils and accommodating the structures and activities around the area.

Spread footings had been planned for the affected area of the structure, but the unplanned redesign called for drilled caissons, which were used in other areas that required deep footings.

An electrical substation, which provides power to about 25% of the campus, was located in E.B. Fred Hall, the building that stood on the site when the project began. The substation remained functional throughout the demolition of E.B. Fred and throughout the new construction.

The upper levels of E.B. Fred were torn off first and then the rest of the structure demolished to leave the substation intact and running. A roofing membrane was put over the substation and enclosed in a mostly underground bunker.

The team was worried about the historic Hiram Smith building during excavation and foundation work.

With the new structure wrapping around two sides of Hiram Smith and an old crack in its foundation, the historic structure had to be monitored closely to be sure there was no settlement.

An additional site issue included a $25 million utility project going across part of the Microbial Science Building's construction fence.

Top Projects Completed 20

University Club Tower

Cost: $119 Million

The University Club Tower in Milwaukee will overlook the Milwaukee Art Museum and Lake Michigan.

The building will house 38 floors of residential space with mechanical penthouse and will contain 57 units.

The units, two per floor with elevators that open directly into each unit, range from 2,984 sq ft to 4,043 sq ft. Some buyers have elected to purchase an entire floor.

The exterior of the tower, which will be distinctive for its height and glass crown, is designed to fit in with the other structures in the neighborhood.

The building's skin will be glittering white, complimenting the white-winged Santiago Calatrava-designed Milwaukee Art Museum Addition it overlooks and the stately Cudahy Tower residential building to the south. Built in 1909 and 1929, Cudahy is constructed of marble, glazed brick and terra cotta - all gleaming white.

The University Club's amenities include expansive views of the city skyline, security features, a cooled room for grocery transport, 325-sq-ft terraces and 17,000-sq-ft private garden.

A coordination issue involved the cabinetry from Italy for the condo pantries.

A 20-week lead time was needed to get the millwork and casework onsite.

Some unexpected poor soil conditions set the team back nearly 12 weeks to redesign the caisson system. The soil consisted of loose clay and some ash from foundries from long ago.

Originally, there was a belt caisson system that had to be changed to a straight-shaft system. The team also went from 70 ft deep to more than 90 ft deep.

Click here for 20 Top Projects Started>>