The southeastern campus area is up for a facelift.
Executive Management Inc., the private owner of University Square, and UW-Madison will turn a 30-year-old, low-density retail complex into a modernized nexus for student service and resources.
Demolition of the building located on the 700 block of University Avenue is scheduled for Aug. 2006. Construction of the new building, which will include two levels of underground parking, two floors of retail space and approximately 10 floors of residential space, is slated for fall 2008.
According to the Chancellor's Office of Facilities Planning and Management, regents approved almost $57 million for the project. It will bring University Health Services, a new Student Activities Center and the offices of the Registrar, Bursar and Student Financial Services into one building. Regents approved the project on Dec. 10, 2004.
Redeveloping University Square into a multipurpose structure will start a series of ongoing, massive reconfigurations to the layout of campus buildings that will facilitate the way students live and move. The new SAC facilities will accommodate 100 student groups. The relocation of UHS from its current location at University Avenue and Breese Terrace will bring important services closer to students.
The project, originally conceived by Greg Rice, CEO of EMI in 1996, has garnered support from local officials. Ald. Austin King, District 8, member of the Joint Southeast Campus Committee, would have preferred to see the city acquire the state funding necessary for building a dormitory on the site but embraces the current move to maximize joint retail space and student resources.
\The student meeting spaces for the student activity center are going to be fantastic for the district,"" he said. ""This is an area where density and height make a lot of sense.""
Darrell Bazzell, Vice Chancellor for University Administration, echoed the sentiment. ""We now have a focal point for a preponderance of student services on campus-a one-stop-shopping approach, so to speak,"" he said, citing the local conveniences the new
facility will afford.
Sue Springman, president of EMI, said that architectural designs have yet to be finalized. ""We're very anxious to get it going,"" Springman said. ""We've been working on it for a long time.""
Springman said Potter Lawson Architects and J.H. Findorff & Sons will be in charge of design and construction.
According to Bazzell, plans are on schedule. The university's part of the project, with State Building Commission approval, now seeks to secure gubernatorial legislative approval.
""I feel very encouraged by the response from the governor and the initial response we've seen from the building commission,"" Bazzell said.
Students will shoulder much of the cost of the project. Student segregated fees will cover $17 million, and $39.85 million will come from general fund-supported borrowing approved in a 1999 referendum.
The Plan Commission will recommend action before the City Council votes on final project zoning approval.
