Vogel Bros. builds on family tradition

Vogel Bros. crews are working to complete a new building for the Goodman Atwood Community Center in Madison. Photos courtesy of Vogel Bros. Building Co.

Once completed, the new Goodman Atwood Community Center will include a gym and fitness center, a café, a food pantry and games and art rooms.

For Peter Vogel, president of Vogel Bros. Building Co., building a new a home for the Goodman Atwood Community Center in Madison is a continuation of the work his father started 54 years ago.

The center, which is on Madison’s near-east side, is a place where children can play, adults struggling through hard times can get food, and seniors can gather for some friendly company.

Vogel’s father, David, helped the center as a member of a local Kiwanis group in 1954, when it became a full-service organization after affiliating with United Neighborhood Centers.

“To be able to continue to support a program my father was instrumental in, it means a lot to me personally,” Vogel said. “It’s amazing how much they are able to do for that Atwood community, that part of town.”

For the project, Vogel Bros. is renovating a 30,000-square-foot foundry and constructing a 14,000-square-foot companion building that will be connected by a covered walkway.

The center currently runs out of three locations. The renovated foundry and new building will let the organization consolidate.

Once completed, centralizing will not only make operations more efficient and cost-effective, it also will make it easier for more people of all ages to interact.

The new center will include a gym and fitness center, a café run by teens training in the culinary arts, a food pantry, and game and art rooms.

The center estimates the extra space will result in a doubling, from 13,000 to 26,000, of the people using its facilities. There also is expected to be a 30 percent boost in child-care participation.

The renovated foundry is on the National Register of Historic Places, and the new building is being constructed using environmentally friendly techniques.

Although the project will not pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification due to the cost, it will meet many LEED criteria.

Working within the restrictions placed on historical buildings is at times a challenge, Vogel said, but the result has been worthwhile so far.

“There’s a sustainable goal that runs through the project,” Vogel said. “They have a mission to be good stewards of the resources involved.”

— Jennifer Pfaff