Your Honor

The Cathedral Place roof terrace in Milwaukee Photo by Mark Heffron

Bassett Mechanical, Kaukauna, won a 2005 Wisconsin Corporate Safety Award from the Wisconsin Council of Safety and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development for the company’s safety record and achievements in health and safety management. … Lynne Woehrle, an associate professor of sociology at Mount Mary College in Milwaukee, won the 2006 CG Schmidt Ovation Award for Volunteerism. CG Schmidt Inc., Milwaukee, honored Woehrle for her service at Growing Power, an organization supporting people from diverse backgrounds through the development of community food systems that provide safe, healthy and affordable food and are based on the principles of environmentally sustainable agriculture. In honor of Woehrle’s service, the CG Schmidt Foundation made a $1,500 donation to Growing Power. … National Survey & Engineering, a division of R.A. Smith & Associates Inc., Brookfield, won an Honorable Mention Excellence in Design Award from the Wisconsin Concrete Masonry Association for the company’s site planning, grading and hardscape design on a residential project in Stone Bank. National Survey also won a First Place Award in interactive Web mapping from the Wisconsin Land Information Association for the company’s design of a GeoLocator for the Metropolitan Builders Association’s Web site.…

Chudnow

The late Joe Chudnow, former vice president of Chudnow Construction Corp., Milwaukee, and past president of the Metropolitan Builders Association, was inducted into the National Association of Home Builders’ Hall of Fame in recognition of his work in the national housing industry. … County Materials Corp., Marathon, won an Excellence Award from the Wisconsin Concrete Masonry Association for the company’s work on the Shattuck Park Pavilion and Riverwalk in Neenah. County Materials also won Finalist awards for its work on the Weber Residence in Pewaukee, the Bella Domicile Kitchen Showroom in Madison, Peace Lutheran Church in Green Bay and RiverGlen Christian Church in Waukesha. … The American Institute of Architects Wisconsin recently honored nine projects for excellence in architectural design. The winners of an Honor Award were: La Dallman Architects Inc., Milwaukee, for its design of the Marsupial Pedestrian Bridge and Urban Plaza in Milwaukee; and Vetter Denk Architecture Inc., Milwaukee, for its design of the Booth Street stairs in Milwaukee. The winners of a Merit Award were: HGA Architects and Engineers, Milwaukee, for its design of the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Chapel in Mequon; La Dallman Architects Inc. for its design of an open-air classroom for Milwaukee Montessori School; Louis Wasserman & Associates, Milwaukee, for its design of the Cathedral Place roof terrace in Milwaukee; Plunkett Raysich Architects LLP, Milwaukee, for its design of the Gundersen Lutheran Renal Dialysis Center in Onalaska; and The Kubala Washatko Architects Inc., Cedarburg, for its design of the Milwaukee Public Market. Winners of a Special Recognition Award were: HGA Architects and Engineers for its design of the Karen Peck Katz Conservation Education Center at the Milwaukee County Zoo; and Engberg Anderson Design Partnership Inc., Milwaukee, for its design of the Historic Third Ward Riverwalk in Milwaukee. … M.M. Schranz Roofing Inc., Milwaukee, won the 2006 Firestone Master Contractor Award, the Inner Circle of Quality Award and the President’s Club Award from Firestone Building Products Co., Indianapolis. … The American Public Works Association and the APWA Wisconsin Chapter recently honored several projects and industry members in celebration of National Public Works Week. The national association honored: the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Northwest Side Relief Sewer project with the 2006 APWA National Environmental Category (over $100 million) Project of the Year Award; Larry Nelson, the city engineer for Madison, as one of the 2006 APWA National Top 10 Public Works Leaders of the Year; and the Stevens Point South Side Business Highway 51 & Reconstruction project as the 2006 APWA National Transportation (under $2 million) Project of the Year Award winner. Awards from the APWA Wisconsin Chapter included the Janesville Pumping Station No. 12 project in the Environment Category ($2 million to $10 million), the Janesville Transportation Improvement project in the Transportation Category ($2 million to $10 million) and the Innovative Aeration System-Janesville Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade in the Technical Innovation Category. APWA Wisconsin also honored the Madison Area Municipal Storm Water Partnership with the William J. Rheinfrank Award, and it gave Jeff Mazanec, a senior engineer with Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc., Chippewa Falls, the John W. Curtis Award for his dedication to the APWA Wisconsin Chapter. … The Boldt Company, Appleton, won the Wisconsin Business Friend of the Environment Award from the Wisconsin Environmental Working Group for the company’s work in pollution prevention, innovative technology and environmental stewardship. … The Milwaukee-based Public Policy Forum, a nonpartisan research organization focusing on regional issues, announced its 2006 Salute to Local Government Award winners. The village of Jackson and town of Jackson won the Inter-Governmental Cooperation Award for their development of a Revenue Sharing Agreement and Cooperative Boundary Plan to resolve a mobile-home park expansion issue. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District won the Inter-Governmental Cooperation Honorable Mention for its Lincoln Creek Flood Management project. The cities and counties of Milwaukee, Kenosha and Racine won the Regional Cooperation Award for their advancement of the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Commuter Rail project. The city of Glendale, Corrigan Properties, Steiner + Associates and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation won a Private-Public Cooperation Award for their teamwork creating the Bayshore Town Center in Glendale.

Peer Review

Neighborhood watch

Theodore Lipscomb’s love of one historic house led him to change an entire neighborhood for the better.

As a teen-ager, Lipscomb fell in love with a historic but rundown mansion — originally owned by Civil War hero Col. Theodore Yates — on State Street just west of Milwaukee’s downtown. Lipscomb talked his older brother into buying the nearly 150-year-old house in 1994, and the two fixed it up and moved in.

“When we first looked at the Yates house, it was like five rooming houses in a row, and outside each one was a bunch of drunks hanging out,” said Lipscomb. “Even in the year we didn’t own it [but were trying to buy it], we would go through there almost weekly with our dog and basically sniff people out of closets, then re-board them.

“There had been fires, and plants were growing out of the floor. But it’s a great historic house, and from the moment me and my brother crawled through a window to check it out, we loved it.”

Moving into the Yates mansion eventually led Lipscomb to his calling, redeveloping Milwaukee’s historic near west side neighborhood for the nonprofit organization West End Development Corp.

“I’ve always been fascinated by and seen new life in these old buildings,” she said. “They are almost all owner-occupied now.”

Lipscomb became director of community development for West End in March 2000 and worked there until December. The organization, formerly called West End Community Association, was around for 30 years and saw success working against prostitution and drug dealing.

“When I came aboard, the organization was making a transition to becoming a development corporation, first in name and then in action,” said Lipscomb.

West End completed its first rehabilitation project in 2002, and dozens more followed. As home owners moved in, the riffraff moved out, and Lipscomb said he is now very proud of his neighborhood.

“Basically, [the area west of downtown] is the opposite of everything that is stereotyped of Milwaukee as the segregated city,” he said. “It’s probably the least homogeneous area of the city. Whereas most neighborhoods have one economic class strata, here you have $400 rents in buildings next to $300,000 homes.”

Lipscomb was born and raised in Grafton but attended a Catholic grade school on Milwaukee’s north side. He cultivated an interest in architecture and development at an early age, and his precociousness sometimes got him in trouble.

“I remember getting stopped by the police in high school because I was showing my girlfriend this boarded up building on King Drive in an area known for prostitution,” Lipscomb said. “Police detained us for 25 minutes because they thought I picked this woman up. Only when I explained there was a [request for proposal] on the house, and it was too bad I didn’t have any experience or any money, because I really wish I could work on this kind of thing, did they believe me.”

As a senior at Marquette University High School, he worked for Milwaukee-based Engberg Anderson Design Partnership Inc. through an architecture explorers program.

Lipscomb continued to work for Engberg Anderson throughout his college years. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1998 with a degree in architectural studies and urban planning, he turned his attention to the Yates mansion.

Although he remains a member of West End, Lipscomb left the organization to create UrbanWealth LLC, a company offering services in real estate development and consulting with a focus on community development.

But even with the change in jobs, he has no intention of leaving his neighborhood.

“Marquette was my introduction to the west side, and I pretty much haven’t left since,” Lipscomb said. “There is this tremendous, eclectic mix of single- and multifamily homes, duplexes and vacant land where we can build something new.”

- Joe Grundle

On the horizon

Ring & Du Chateau Inc., Milwaukee, is providing consulting services for the estimated $18.7 million west campus utility improvement project in Madison. … Flad & Associates Inc., Madison, signed on to consult for the estimated $70.16 million biochemistry II building on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. … Tribute Design Systems LLC, in a joint venture with Ramaker & Associates Inc., Delafield, will consult on the estimated $4.54 million third phase of the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery project in Union Grove. … Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc., Chippewa Falls, is providing consultant services for an estimated $2.75 million search-and-rescue training facility in Camp Douglas. … Trimen Industries Inc., Belgium, is planning a 22,000-square-foot expansion of its factory building in the Belgium Industrial Park. … The Zimmerman Design Group, Milwaukee, is designing an estimated $3.4 million police station for the village of Fox Point.

Giving back

Knop

The Tri County Contractor’s Association gave a $1,000 scholarship to Abby Knop, Racine. ... Great Lakes Roofing Corp., Germantown, installed a new storage shed roof and made building upgrades for the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Fond du Lac. Great Lakes also installed metal door trim, which was donated by Muza Sheet Metal Co., Oshkosh. Great Lakes performed the work through its Helping Hands program, which was established in 2001 to help the company give back to the community. … Northern Environmental Technologies Inc., Marshfield, donated $300 for the construction of a drinking-water well at an orphanage near Kinshasa in the Central African Republic. Currently, local waters are unsafe for consumption, forcing residents to walk more than 1.5 miles to obtain clean drinking water. … County Materials Corp., Marathon, donated sand, ready-mix concrete, benches and planters to complement the Treehouse Dreams project, which created a new, handicap-accessible tree house at Oak Street Park in Edgar.

Dotted Line

Edgerton Contractors Inc., Oak Creek, landed a $16.93 million contract for earth and bridge work on the Milwaukee County Grounds in Wauwatosa. … J.H. Findorff & Son Inc., Madison, won an $8.15 million general contract to expand and remodel the James R. Connor University Center at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Mann Bros. Inc., Elkhorn, won a $1.95 million plumbing and fire-sprinkler contract for the Whitewater job. … LaLonde Contractors Inc., Milwaukee, secured a $4.08 million contract for concrete paving work in Oshkosh. LaLonde also won a $3.91 million contract for taxiway construction at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. … The Selmer Co. Inc., Green Bay, landed a $7.29 million contract to construct an Army Reserve center, an organization maintenance shop and an unheated storage facility in Brokaw. … Seater Construction Co. Inc., Racine, will expand the Center for Energy Conservation and Advanced Manufacturing on the Oak Creek campus of the Milwaukee Area Technical College after winning a $4.25 million contract for the job. … H&H Industries/Electric, Madison, won a $4.17 million electrical contract for a graduate school addition to the Grainger Hall Business School on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. … Ellis Stone Construction Co., Stevens Point, will expand and remodel the Municipal Center in Kronenwetter after winning a $3.61 million contract for the job. … Underground Pipeline Inc., New Berlin, took home a $2.12 million sewer and water contract for the Harmony Hills subdivision in Menomonee Falls. Underground also won a $1.42 million contract for street improvements in Oconomowoc. … American Asphalt of Wisconsin, Mosinee, won a $3.17 million contract for asphalt surfacing work in Marathon County. … Kilgust Mechanical Inc., Madison, won a $2.84 million HVAC contract for a graduate school addition to the Grainger Hall Business School on the UW-Madison campus. … McHugh Excavating & Plumbing Inc., Onalaska, won a $1.28 million contract for street and utility improvements in Monona. McHugh also won a $1.34 million contract to reconstruct Hogan Road in Waunakee. … Vinton Construction Co., Manitowoc, won a $2.01 million contract for concrete paving work in Kaukauna. … Visu-Sewer Clean & Seal Inc., Pewaukee, landed a $2 million contract for a storm-sewer lining project in Milwaukee. … Parisi Construction Co. Inc., Verona, secured a $1.89 million contract for utility casting adjusting and curb and gutter repairs in Madison. … Tri-North Builders Inc., Madison, will reconstruct the Olin Avenue waste-transfer station in Madison after winning a $1.88 million contract for the job. … Feaker & Sons Co. Inc., De Pere, won a $1.77 million contract for utility and street reconstruction work in Freedom. … Cardinal Construction Co. Inc., Fond du Lac, took home a $1.69 million contract to remodel three buildings on the Waukesha County Technical College campus in Pewaukee. … Homburg Contractors Inc., Monona, landed a $1.63 million contract for street and utility work in Monona. … Jossart Bros. Construction, De Pere, won a $1.58 million contract for a water-main project in Algoma. … Ronet Construction Corp., Green Bay, took home a $1.58 million contract for utility and street reconstruction work in Freedom. … Carl Bowers & Sons Construction Co. Inc., Kaukauna, won a $1.54 million contract for utility and street reconstruction work in Freedom. … R.G. Huston Co. Inc., Cottage Grove, secured a $1.46 million contract for road and utility work on Highway N in Cottage Grove. … Hammersley Stone Co. Inc., Verona, took home a $1.41 million contract for a sanitary-sewer job with resurfacing in Madison. … Advance Construction Inc., Green Bay, won a $1.4 million contract for street and utility work in Jackson. … Super Excavators Inc., Menomonee Falls, will construct the Range Line Road relief-sewer project in Milwaukee after winning a $1.35 million contract for the job. … Black Diamond Group Inc., Oak Creek, landed a $1.14 million contract for the 2006 paving program in Mount Pleasant. … Mainline Sewer & Water Inc., Wauwatosa, will construct a sanitary-sewer relay in Hales Corners after winning a $1.14 million contract for the job. … Milwaukee General Construction Co. Inc., Milwaukee, won a $1.11 million contract for alley reconstructions in several locations in West Allis. … M.J. Construction Inc., Milwaukee, landed a $1.1 million contract to construct a sewer relay and lining in Milwaukee. … Howard Bros. Plumbing & Heating Inc., Woodruff, won a $1.09 million contract for road and utility work in the Wittenberg Business Park. … Northeast Asphalt Inc., Greenville, secured a $1.03 million contract for asphalt resurfacing work in Green Bay. … Bauer & Raether Builders, Madison, won a $1.01 million contract to construct improvements at Sandburg Elementary School in Madison. …W.K. Construction Co. Inc., Middleton, landed a $1.01 million contract for grinding and pulverizing work in Madison. … Bukacek Construction, Racine, was awarded a contract from Whole Foods Market to construct a 50,000-square-foot market in Milwaukee. … Creative Constructors LLC, Menomonee Falls, was awarded the contract for a multipurpose building on the Southern Oaks Girls School Campus in Union Grove. … MSI General Corp., Oconomowoc, was selected for the design and construction of a 4,800-square-foot addition for Adair Sewer and Water in Milwaukee. MSI also was selected for the design, engineering and construction of a 3,930-square-foot North Shore Bank in Sussex and the design, engineering and construction of a new neighborhood convenience store in Kenosha. … Riley Construction Co. Inc., Kenosha, signed on to construct the Oaks Student Housing building at Carthage College in Kenosha, the Charles W. Nash Elementary School in Kenosha, the Brass Elementary School in Kenosha and the S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. Child Care Center in Caledonia.

Top Dollar

Miron Construction Co. Inc., Neenah, landed a $21.45 million contract to construct a graduate school addition to the Grainger Hall Business School on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Miron also won a $19.39 million contract to expand and remodel the Dreyfuss University Center on the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point campus. Miron also won a $10.52 million contract with a $1.08 million alternate bid to renovate the Wild Rose Fish Hatchery in Wild Rose.

A burning question with ...

William J. Jackson, vice president of marketing and business development for Engineered Construction Inc., Verona

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

"The best way to answer that is it's something that makes you re-evaluate what makes the world go round. Hopefully, it burns you and makes you purer. Everybody will experience it, and it's all a matter of how you live with it and go through it."

Branching out

Great Lakes Roofing Corp., Germantown, is expanding its operations by opening a new branch office in Madison. Along with serving the Madison area, the new office will help Great Lakes better reach its customers in southwestern Wisconsin. Great Lakes also has branches in Appleton and northern Illinois.

Milestones

Powers Lake Construction Co. Inc., Twin Lakes, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The company was founded in 1956 by Carl F. Karow Sr.

By Design

Rendering courtesy of Stephen Perry Smith Architects Inc.

The Prestwick Group, formerly known as Great Lakes Golf Course Products, wants a new home. Stephen Perry Smith Architects Inc., Menomonee Falls, and Oliver Construction Co. Inc., Oconomowoc, are ready to provide it. The architect and general contractor are teaming up to create a new headquarters for Prestwick in the northwest corner of the Pabst Farms Commerce Centre in Oconomowoc. The new office, warehouse and showroom will let Prestwick combine its two offices into one and move its headquarters from Delafield to a more high-profile location at Pabst Farms. The new 50,000-square-foot, two-story structure will offer the look and feel of a golf clubhouse, complete with a one-hole golf course next to the building so Prestwick can showcase its products. The project kicked off in June and should reach completion by January.

Best of the web

LeanArch's Web site at www.leanarch.com promotes the Los Angeles-based residential architecture studio. It's a flash-based site that is very simplistic in its navigation and design. The goal, it seems, is to let the firm's work speak for itself. — Rick Benedict

Off the clock

Last line of defense

Tammy Rayfield knows that often she is the one constant in the lives of severely abused or neglected children. Photos courtesy of Tammy Rayfield

The father brought a knife to court.

It was concealed inside a wooden cross in his backpack. He was in court for a permanency hearing following a petition to keep his children with foster parents.

And Tammy Rayfield, business manager for Ken Saiki Design Inc., Madison, has a pretty good idea of where the father’s anger was pointed.

“I could be pretty certain he was mad at me,” she said. “All I know is the children were safe in the foster program.”

Dealing with angry parents is just one hazard of the job for volunteers in the Dane County Court Appointed Special Advocates Program. The program is designed to help judges, social workers and other members of the court system determine the best interests of children who may be severely abused or neglected.

And volunteers like Rayfield act as the eyes and ears for the court system, taking on about one case per year and paying weekly visits to children wherever they may be. Those visits can translate to volunteers sitting on the witness stand and testifying in court cases involving the best care of children.

“It meant that I was helping children and could make a difference in their lives,” Rayfield said. “They’re the innocent ones.

“It’s very difficult, and we can only report on the facts. We can’t interject our opinions or feelings.”

The Dane County Court Appointed Special Advocates Program encourages volunteers to plant the seeds for safe homes for children. Photos courtesy of Tammy Rayfield

Rayfield volunteered in 1999 after she learned of the program from a friend. She went through all the necessary training, got sworn in by a judge and started taking cases.

Since then, she worked with 13 children and only took one break from the program.

“I had a case where I had to take a year off because it almost broke my soul,” she said.

From both a mental and physical standpoint, the program isn’t exactly the safest option for people looking to volunteer their time.

“No, but it’s the most rewarding,” Rayfield said. “When you walk in that door, and that child recognizes you, runs to you and wants to play with you, there’s nothing more rewarding than knowing you can give them the life they deserve.

“A lot of times, we’re the only constant in the lives of the children.”

And it’s Rayfield’s commitment to the program that earned her an award from United Way on April 18 for outstanding service to the community.

“It’s a great program,” she said. “I don’t do this for recognition; I do this because I’m passionate about it.”

- Chris Thompson