VJS survives Grand scrutiny

VJS is salvaging and refurbishing the historic front desk of the Hotel Wisconsin. Photos courtesy of VJS Construction Services

It’s a contractor’s worst nightmare.

The construction team gets to the work site, sets up shop and digs in for a long, hard project. And then, at some point early in the process, someone happens to look across the street and sees four letters that, at the very least, mean more attention than anyone bargained for.

Those four letters stand for Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and that’s just what VJS Construction Services found when it started transforming the Hotel Wisconsin into The Grand Wisconsin, a 12-story, 179,000-square-foot, 108-unit apartment building. The project is right across the street from the big blue building in downtown Milwaukee that houses the Milwaukee OSHA office.

“Talk about being in a fishbowl,” said Mike Hnilicka, VJS’ vice president. “We had more than one inspection, and we’ve done very well.”

And that’s no easy feat considering that even after the owner removed asbestos before VJS got started, the contractor still had lead paint to contain on the site.

“We had a surprise visit, and they wiped down the eating tables in our lunchroom and randomly selected workers to wipe their hands, and we passed every test,” Hnilicka said.

The staircase connecting the first and second floors of the Hotel Wisconsin is getting a chance at a second life as a central feature of The Grand Wisconsin.

Now the test for VJS is completing the renovation of the 1913 hotel that closed three years ago. Facing that challenge forced the construction team to gut the building from top to bottom while maintaining the structure’s historic features in the main lobby and in portions of the second floor.

“Probably the bulk of demolition took six to seven months, but we just finished it up completely,” Hnilicka said. “We removed and replaced all the windows and elevators. Once the metal studs went up, we got the mechanical rough-ins in place.

“Eventually, it starts to proceed like a normal construction project.”

And that project, which features two townhouses on the 11th and 12th floors as well as underground parking and a basement fitness center, is entering the stretch run.

As the job heads into September, VJS should have four or five floors complete, with the balance of the building in the final stages.

And when the project wraps in October, Hnilicka said, the construction team will have a job to be proud of — even with those four letters across the street.

“We’ve had a great group of subcontractors and a great relationship with the architect and owner,” he said. “There were a lot of challenges, but it’s gone real well.”

- Chris Thompson