Safe and Sound

Multipurpose public building meets city's needs

By Ellen Hickok-Wall
Daily Reporter Staff

Dominating a triangle of land created where North and Lisbon avenues intersect on Milwaukee's northwest side, the city's Police Department 3rd District Communications Operation Center serves many purposes -- and many users.

Bill Gielow, business developer with project architect the Zimmerman Design Group, said the multiple uses of the building created some obstacles.

"It was immediately clear to us that the challenges required intense coordination between many large agencies of the city," Gielow said.

Four city departments - Public Works, City Development, Police and Fire - were stakeholders in the project, Gielow said.

"Each of these agencies had representatives of a variety of divisional components that needed to be consulted, considered and coordinated due to their integral role and interests in the success of this project," Gielow said.

"The 3rd District is one of the most active districts in the city," he said. "In addition to this crucial operational component, the facility was to serve as the home of the citywide police dispatch and 911 communications center, as well as the technology and records-management function of the entire Milwaukee Police Department."

Greg Sabel, project manager for general contractor C.D. Smith Construction Inc., said the location added interest and challenges.

"The biggest challenge in constructing this project was the everyday obstacles of a busy and confined space," he said. "There's not much room at all for that large of a project."

The project's location, Sabel said, made scheduling difficult because he had to provide delivery dates to suppliers months in advance.
"And you have to make sure that when it comes, you're ready for it," he said.

Building with a view

While the site created challenges, it also had benefits, Sabel said, affording "breathtaking views in all directions with glass curtain walls comprising the exterior of the three-story building."

And for outsiders looking in, Gielow said the building is "stunning."

But the attractive design initially created skepticism for some users.

"Some people thought, 'Either it's beautiful or it's secure, but it can't be both,'" Gielow said. "But you can have a building that the community can be proud of when they drive by, but at the same time, very secure."

It might have resulted in a beautiful building, but staff members at Grunau Project Development Inc., the project manager, kept their focus on law enforcement when preparing for the job. They even took tours of comparable facilities in Los Angeles and Chicago.

"They wanted to understand completely the critical mission of the police facility," said Marsha Block, Grunau's vice president of business development. "GPD's understanding of the critical nature of the building, combined with complex site and technologically challenging construction experience influenced the city of Milwaukee to hire GPD as a project manager for oversight of construction operations and facility validation."

Grunau's responsibility on the project included:

• Demolition of existing structures, including asbestos abatement, underground storage-tank removal and soil remediation.
  
  
• Construction of a 90,000-square-foot, three-story, high-tech building to accommodate the 3rd District Police Station, police data center and fire and police 911 communications.
  
  
• Construction of a precast concrete parking facility to house police vehicles in an enclosed garage with staff parking above.
  
  
• Construction of a public parking lot with landscaping.
  
  
• Installation of furnishings, fixtures and equipment.
  
  
• Coordination with other construction activities for the installation of communications systems.

"Grunau is proud to have been part of the successful completion of the mission-critical communications operations center," Block said.

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