Before After the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; and a $ 40,700 Site Assessment Grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
Huelsman’ s company had never worked on a brownfield redevelopment project, and he said he greatly appreciated Ayres’ assistance in navigating the regulatory process.
“ They were very timely with their reports and had an excellent working relationship with the state and granting agencies,” Huelsman said.“ They were on-site when we needed them to be, and everything went very smoothly.”
In addition to the initial uncertainty of which, if any, grants would be awarded, another challenge was the tight timeframe in which the team had to complete the work.
“ We had to get all these grants in place, get all the financing and funding in place, get the building built, and it had a due date of August 15 because the students were going to show up and move in – and there is no slipping that date,” he said.
While there was a hard delivery date on the construction schedule, preparing grant proposals and getting other affairs in order also takes time.
“ The schedule can start to compress, but the end date doesn’ t change – so the stress level goes up,” Huelsman said, noting that final details were still being completed as students were moving in, and the management company obtained its occupancy permit with one day to spare.
Results revealing
Besides the striking visual transformation, the redevelopment has also decreased crime, created 25 to 30 jobs, and boosted the tax value.
“ The amount of taxes paid today on those three buildings is over 10 times what was paid prior to this construction, so the payoff to the city and to all the residents of the city is pretty significant,” Lostetter said.
“ It was a blighted area that now looks terrific,” Huelsman added.
Precast concrete panels accelerate repairs and provide longevity for busy Wisconsin interstate
Before
By Jennifer Schmidt
After
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