Large Fire at Blackhawk Junction Mall in Prairie du Chien

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Blackhawk Junction Mall in Prairie du Chien suffered a large fire on the evening of Sunday, April 13th.  Eight fire departments, with more than 150 firefighters combined, battled the fire and continued to extinguish hot spots throughout Monday.  While the fire was contained to Slumberland Furniture where it started, every tenant space within the 140,000 SF mall was effected by the this fire and much of the mall will require a complete reconstruction.

Engineered Construction was called by the Mall Owner and asked to provide emergency and reconstruction services as the result of the fire.  At this point, ECI has completed the emergency services portion of  work, the True Value Hardware store is open and operational  and reconstruction planning has begun.

UW-Madison Dermatology Lab Reconstruction Complete

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UW-Madison called on Engineered Construction (EC) for catastrophe recovery expertise almost immediately after a fire caused smoke, fire and water damage at a 9-room Dermatology laboratory suite in the Medical Science Center  at 1300 University Avenue on February 28, 2013.  After EC and the team cleaned up the worst of the water intrusion and ensured a safe site for personnel access, the fire department and university investigated the fire’s cause for several months.

During the investigation, EC and the team cleaned and replaced smoke and water damaged surfaces in the offices and labs on the floors above and below the fire as well as the stairwells, hallways and labs surrounding the lab suite involved in the fire.  EC coordinated the work schedule and temporary system shut-downs with University officials to minimize disruptions to students and research.  There was no structural damage to the building from the fire, but many systems were damaged and had to be replaced, including compressed gas, data and electrical distribution.  This work was completed around the end of June, when the investigation was finished and the laboratory suite was opened up for reconstruction.

The deconstruction and removal of burnt and damaged furniture, lab casework, piping, HVAC ductwork, walls, ceilings, flooring, doors and electrical wiring from the laboratory suite took three weeks in July.  Every piece had to be replaced according to existing as-built plans and documentation.  Some sections of spalling concrete floor also had to be replaced in order to protect the underlying reinforcement.  The rebuild was completed and UW has a brand-new lab for the New Year.

Symdon Motors Grand Re-Opening

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Symdon Chevrolet in Mt. Horeb hosted a Grand Re-Opening on March 31st to celebrate the completion of their recent renovations.   The Mt. Horeb fire department was there to help celebrate and Symdon donated $20  for every test drive to go towards training, gear or facility needs.  The donations totaled $750 and the event was a huge success.

Symdon Chevrolet had asked Engineered Construction to modernize their entrance and service area to be similar to General Motors’ newest corporate style.  The new look creates an inviting and enticing atmosphere for costumers.

Exterior changes included an architectural metal face lift, a new entrance and new windows.  The showroom, customer lobby and offices were carefully scheduled by project manager Jim Ladika to make the facility available for business as much as possible during the project.

Engineered Construction also made an addition of 5,000 SF to the service department, and replaced the mechanicals.  Including all else, four new service bays for larger repair capacity were constructed.  The first phase was finished July 30th and the second phase was completed in early October. For more information, visit www.symdonchevy.com.

Food Business Incubator Enhances Community

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EC is very proud of our involvement with the FEED Kitchens (Food Enterprise Economic Development), Madison’s new, food-based, business incubation facility. The 5,400-square-foot building, located at 1219 N. Sherman Ave., houses five commercial kitchens, with space and equipment for baking, produce prep and processing, deli prep and meat processing. The kitchens were officially open for business on Nov 4th, 2013, under the management of Adam Haen, and are currently available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for hourly rentals, with dry, cold and frozen storage space available. Developed through the Northside Planning Council, and the fundraising efforts of Ellen Bernard and Karen Bassler, the incubator is being funded by private donations and government grants, including a Community Development Block Grant from the city of Madison and a grant from the Wisconsin Buy Local program. The incubator is available for non-profit and for-profit use, including Madison Area Technical College, local caterers, REAP Food Group and local food cart vendors.

This project was carefully completed under the supervision of Project Manager, Jim Ladika and Job Superintendant, Greg McGuire, of Engineered Construction.

Demolition for new retail center

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Madison-based Park Towne Corp. is developing an 8,100-square-foot retail center at 420 Gammon Place across from West Towne Mall.

Demolition began Friday on the existing building, which originally was built for a TGI Fridays restaurant, with construction to start next week. The new center’s anchor tenant will be Wells Fargo bank, with space for three to four other tenants yet to be filled, Park Towne’s Mike Ring said.

The TGI Fridays closed in 2006, with subsequent restaurants opening and closing in the location since then. The building dated to the mid-1980s, and also was developed by Park Towne.

The Madison Plan Commission approved the current project in July. Ring said he expected building construction would be finished by the end of March, barring any weather delays. Engineered Construction of Verona is the project contractor and Gary Brink & Associates is the architect.

Previous Madison redevelopments completed by Park Towne include Town Center Square, a 30,000-square-foot retail and office building in the 6800 block of Odana Road and the West Side building where Jared’s Galleria of Jewelry is located, at 505 S. Gammon Road.

Symdon Motors gets a facelift

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Symdon Chevrolet in Mt. Horeb asked Engineered Construction to bring their showroom, entrance and service area up to General Motors’ newest corporate style.  The new look is more modern and enticing for prospective customers.

Changes to the exterior include an architectural metal face lift, a new entrance and new windows.  The showroom, customer lobby and offices were carefully scheduled by project manager Jim Ladika to make the facility available for business as much as possible during construction.

Engineered Construction is also adding 5,000 SF to the service department and replacing the mechanicals as well as adding four new service bays for improved repair capacity.  The first phase was finished July 30th and the second is scheduled to be completed in September. For more information, visit www.symdonchevy.com.

New Italian Restaurant

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Engineered Construction recently completed renovating a former seafood market into a sit-in/carry-out restaurant.  Novanta’s menu features 10-inch Neapolitan pizzas, a fresh mozzarella bar, paninis and salads.  Project Manager Jim Ladika and Aro Eberle Architects worked with owners Vincenzo Pugliese and Nick Mattioli to make their dream a reality.

The wood-burning pizza oven, which cooks pizzas in 90 (“novanta” in Italian) seconds, is the heart of the restaurant.  The construction schedule and restaurant layout revolved around the arrival of the oven, which came from Italy in part by boat.

The entire interior, except the floor, was demolished and prepped for the oven’s arrival.  Project Superintendent Steven Hubert relates, “The oven is so large that a window had to be removed to get it into the building. It was a monster!”  Upon arrival it was fixed in place, hand-mosaicked, and the restaurant was rebuilt around it in warm browns, reds and yellows.

Novanta is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week and has seating for 38 inside and several on the sunny sidewalk.  It is located in the retail center at 8452 Old Sauk Road.  For more information visit www.facebook.com/novantamadison.