The Wisconsin Union Council announced their support of the new Union South’s final design Wednesday, marking the last vote of endorsement before the contractor bidding process begins this summer.
The council, which is the governing body of the Wisconsin Union, voted to support the project Tuesday night.
“Their enthusiastic support [Tuesday] not only is essential, but it was helpful to see people are looking forward to the new building and pleased with the direction we’re heading,” Union Associate Director Hank Walters said. “I think it was a big step forward just to have the governing body ratify the direction we’re heading very positively.”
According to Dan Cornelius, Wisconsin Union vice president for project management, the council viewed a presentation by architects on the state of the project at the meeting Tuesday, which focused on the interiors of the building.
Cornelius said the council ultimately approved the current design-direction the design committee has taken and all of the completed interior designs that have been produced up until this date.
He said the council also voted to support a motion reaffirming their support for a strong emphasis on salvaged and Wisconsin-sourced local materials.
“This is really approval of the building itself,” Cornelius said. “You can really see what this building is. We’ll actually be getting 100 percent of the design documents in the next few weeks. The one thing we have left to do is the furniture and the moveable equipment.”
Cornelius said the furniture, which is the last step in the design process, will be selected by July or August. Otherwise, the design process has been completed and a contractor will be selected by July.
“We’ll be going form a hole in the ground to working on steel structure and all kinds of things by the time students come back in the fall,” Walters said.
According to Cornelius, officials involved in the new union’s construction are unsure if the project will come in under budget like other recent projects.
While he said changes in the market have already been taken into account for some cost estimates, he said there is still room for some change.
“We are cautiously optimistic,” Cornelius said. “It all depends on what happens with the economy and the construction industry over the next couple of months. We’re optimistic — we’ll get some cost savings, but it’s impossible to tell.”
Cornelius said there was general discussion at the meeting about the change in direction the project has taken since the design committee first began convening.
“No one thought we would be where we are at today with the style and the look, but everyone seemed very happy and in a way that’s a good thing. This building is accomplishing so much more than what our original vision had foreseen. I think there’s a lot of satisfaction and a lot of pride in what we’ve been able to accomplish in the design over the past couple years,” Cornelius said.
