TAKE it to the Bank

La Macchia resurrects historic La Crosse structure

Community Credit Union

By Brendan O'Brien

Photo by Al Gartzke Photography

The La Macchia Group faced a great challenge while renovating a downtown La Crosse building for the Community Credit Union.

"It was challenging, not so much because of the project, [but] the unknowns," said Ralph La Macchia, president of La Macchia Group. "You just never knew what was going to come at you."

The Community Credit Union purchased the partly blighted, century-old, three-story building at 311 Main St. in hope of creating a bigger presence in La Crosse's financial district.

"The building had been neglected for quite some time," La Macchia said. "We went up on the second and third floors, and it was uninhabitable. It was awful."

La Macchia worked the project in three phases, with the first phase consisting of interior demolition. The company stripped the interior down to the studs and removed most of the plumbing and electrical systems.

"You don't know what your budget is until you get everything off of the walls and start with the skeleton," La Macchia said. "We had uncovered a lot of infiltration of water. We had found areas where the structure was questionable. We had found a fire escape basically hanging on by a couple of bolts. It was one thing after another."

The building was further compromised by the substandard masonry and construction work done after a fire. The structural damage continued in the wood plank floors and some of the wood beams. It was also evident in some of the rubble foundation walls from which mortar was falling out like sand.

"Our [project consultant] took a threaded rod and pushed 3 feet into the end of one of the support beams, and it collapsed like Styrofoam," La Macchia said. "We didn't know how much of the building was affected in that manner."

	Project Name: Community Credit Union Location: La Crosse Submitting Company: La Macchia Group LLC, Milwaukee General Contractor: La Macchia Group LLC Architects: La Macchia Group LLC and Mudrovich Architects, Wausau Engineer: JPF Engineering, Waupaca Owner: Community Credit Union, La Crosse Project Cost: $2.4 million Start Date: August 2003 Completion Date: October 2004

The second phase of the project consisted of constructing remote drive-up teller units, parking areas and landscaping. The main entrance was moved from the south side of the building on Main Street to the west side on Third Street.

The third phase featured installation of plasma monitors, remote-teller transaction units and the latest technology. That final phase also included replacing support beams, floors and completing the interior with wood finishes to complement the existing and original structure.

The original building's fireplaces, bank gate, ceiling tin, bank-teller cage and antiques were incorporated into the new building.

"Understanding that people who were in the Civil War built this … a lot of people on the job had a profound respect for the people who put those bricks there," La Macchia said. "We feel fortunate that we were able to do this once in our career. Something of this scale was truly magnificent."

The renovation and relocation will serve the credit union well, he said.

"This credit union, which was certainly a player in the La Crosse market, has now stepped to the front row and put its flag in the downtown," La Macchia said. "They have certainly made a commitment to the downtown. They demonstrated they are truly a part of La Crosse."