Taking ownership

Boldt buys into Park Street project

By Jennifer Pfaff

The Boldt Company knew it was taking a chance.

It was investing $8 million in cash equity for the University of Wisconsin-Madison's new administration building and residence hall, and the contractor was hoping, but not guaranteed, that it would be selected to build the project.

"The $8 million … a little more than half was purchasing property," said Jim Kleinfeldt, managing principal of Boldt Construction Services. "We also financed the design and project approval aspects before we had a formal commitment from the university. We took some risk on our part."

The return on that investment came when Boldt got the job to redefine the campus' entrance, rejuvenate stagnating land in the heart of Madison and build a high-profile project for the university.

The Park Street redevelopment project benefited from all three of The Boldt Company's divisions - Boldt Consulting Services, Oscar J. Boldt Construction and Boldt Technical Services. Together they served as owner, developer and construction manager for the creation of the Newell J. Smith Residence Hall and a 139,000-square-foot, three-story administrative building that sits atop a four-story parking ramp.

	Project Name: University of Wisconsin - Park Street Development Location: Madison Submitting Company: The Boldt Company, Appleton Construction Manager: Oscar J. Boldt Construction, Madison Architects: Kahler Slater Architects Inc., Milwaukee, administration building, parking ramp architect; Zimmerman Architectural Studios Inc., Wauwatosa, Smith Hall architect Engineers: Arnold & O'Sheridan Inc., Madison, administration building, parking ramp engineer; Harwood Engineering Consultants, Milwaukee, Smith Hall engineer; JJR, Madison, site/civil engineer; Ring & DuChateau Inc., Milwaukee, campus utilities engineer Owner: The Boldt Group Inc., doing business as Park Street Properties I LLC, Milwaukee Project Cost: $83.4 million Project Size: 290,000-square-foot administration building; 342-stall parking ramp; 167,000-square-foot Smith Hall Start Date: October 2004 Completion Date: July 2006

The six-story residence hall provides dorms for 425 students as well as academic and computer support centers, social and program space, a deli-style café, a music room and an auditorium.

And it all came together in two years - rather than the six years allowed for most university building projects - because two other campus jobs were on tap, and those would displace students and administrative staff. The Park Street project created the space to accommodate those people and let the other projects start.

And Boldt's ownership of the project let the approval and funding processes move at a faster pace.

"They didn't have to go out and get the full $83 million," Kleinfeldt said. "That requires less of a window for getting the approvals from the State Building Commission."

Using all the resources Boldt has to offer made the job easier, but that doesn't mean it was easy, he said.

"We were told we were doing the project in January 2004 and needed to secure approvals, design a half-million square feet of space and have it ready in 2006," Kleinfeldt said. "Everyone on the project team had to focus on getting it done."

When the job was complete, the university bought the residence hall and parking ramp, but it continues to lease the administration building from Boldt. Every two years, the university gets the option to buy.