Thursday, July 12, 2018

1962 Hill Farms office building demolition UPDATE: Structure still being gutted


Photos by Retiring Guy


6/3/2018 update,  "Office building annex is demolished", starts here.


And the 10-story structure is being gutted.




4/10/2018 update, "1962 Hill Farms state office building fenced in as demolition gets underway", start shere

Photo and video by Retiring Guy




11/19/2017 update, " Hill Farms DOT building, old and new", starts here.

Photo by Retiring Guy

At some point in the not-too-distant future, I'll be looking directly at the facade of a 7-story building.  Big changes proposed for this parking lot.

Above photo taken at point of red arrow.


4/24/2017 update, "New Wisconsin DOT building looks massive, and even more massive, from this angle", starts here.


 Photos by Retiring Guy



4/23/2017 update, 'DOT building looks mostly finished from this angle", starts here.

1964 building in foreground.  Ready-for-2018-occupancy building (and parking ramp) in background.


 The east side of the new building, complete with construction trailers and crane.

Photos by Retiring Guy


4/18/2017 update, " From this angle, new Wisconsin DOT building and ramp has an almost finished look", starts here.

Photo by Retiring Guy


2/2/2017 update, "...from afar, up close", starts here.

Hoyt Park panorama


Zooming in a bit.  Taller cluster of buildings, left to right:  current DOT building, new DOT building under construction, Venture apartments, Weston Place (a.k.a. the Ghost Condo).


About as close up as I can get and keep the building in the frame.  The new building contains 600,000 square feet of space compared to 368,000 square feet in the current building.  The finished project will result in the moving and consolidation of 29 state offices.


Green arrow shows the approximate point where the first 2 photos were taken.


1/16/2017 latest pics update starts here.

Through the windshield.  Approaching from the west on University Avenue.

Two views from the parking lot on the east side of the complex.




12/22/2016 update, "Cladding of the new Wisconsin DOT building begins", starts here.


Photos by Retiring Guy

Stepping back to include the parking ramp in the frame.


11/10/2016 update, "Late afternoon sun illuminates new DOT office building", starts here.

Photo by Retiring Guy

10/22/2016 update, "View of new DOT building construction from reserved executive parking spaces", starts here.



Wisconsin Department of Administration State Building Program

Photo by Retiring Guy


10/3/2016 update, " Gray cloud looms over new DOT building, which, in turn, looms over University Avenue", starts here.


9/12/2016 update, "New DOT building in Madison is looming large", starts here.










9/2/2016 update, "New DOT building in Madison with rabbit ears", starts here.

With new Hill Farms building to open in 2018, state preparing to consolidate Madison offices.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 6/13/2016)
The plan reduces by 15 the number of state leases in privately owned buildings scattered throughout Madison, saving taxpayers more than $3 million a year in rent, maintenance and energy costs, according to the Department of Administration. 
In moving and consolidating 29 offices, the state will occupy 86,000 less square feet of office space. It also will reduce its leased office space by 178,637 square feet — about 17 percent of its total leased space in Madison, excluding the university. That includes nearly 103,422 square feet Downtown.


8/5/2016 update starts here.

From across Sheboygan Avenue.


From the parking lot on the Segoe Road side of the parcel.


The obligatory video update.




7/19/2016.  Even more progress on the parking ramp.







6/24/2016.  Further progress on the parking ramp.



June 9, 2016.  Quite a bit of construction progress in less than a month.






May 19, 2016, update starts here.

It's been 2 weeks since my previous visit.




May 3, 2016.  Latest video installment shows a week's worth of progress.




4/25/2015 update starts here.

Walls rising above ground.


The foundation walls are going up.  (The shadow of the current DOT building looms over the scene.)




2/16/2016 update, "Construction of new state office building underway at Hill Farms", begins here.,

Rendering:  WI Department of Administration

Finance committee gives final OK to new Hill Farms state office building.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 10/16/2015)
The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee approved the sale of 13.9 acres of the Hill Farms site between Sheboygan and University avenues and 4.4 acres at 801 W. Badger Road, both of which would be developed privately as part of a master agreement with developer Smith Gilbane. The committee voted 14-1 with one member absent. Sen. Leah Vukmir, R-Wauwatosa, cast the lone no vote.

Project specifics:
  • Cost:  $186,000,000
    • $150,000,000 office building
    • $  36,000,000 parking ramp
  • Size:  9-story office building encompassing 600,000 square feet


The current, 57-year-old Hill Farms building houses the Department of Transportation.

All photos by Retiring Guy

A view from across Sheboygan Avenue





At this point in the construction timeline, excavation is underway.



The original 7/10/2014 post begins here.

State lists properties that are good prospects to sell.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7/1/2014)

What's under considerationExcess acreage near the Department of Transportation's headquarters, which sits on prime commercial real estate in Madison.

Which excess acreage?

Along University Avenue?


Not likely, as there is no direct access from University.

Off Sheboygan Avenue, west of the DOT building?


Visitor parking.  Not that it couldn't be relocated.

Along Segoe Road?


If I were a developer, this would be my choice.  It's closest to Hilldale Shopping Center. And the parking lot appears to be underused.

Other State Buildings for Sale posts:
The Knapp House.  (7/2/2014)
Wiscraft Industries.  (7/4/2014)
Northern Wisconsin Center.  (7/6/2014)
Ethan Allen School.  (7/7/2014)
Badger Road State Office Building.  (7/8/2014)

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