Wrecking Ball Begins to Swing
Demolition of the 905 University Avenue building (The “Old Bank Building” with two Bucky Badger clocks as many alumni will remember it) has begun and will continue through June as the first step in the construction of an addition to Grainger Hall. Miron Construction Company, Inc. of Neenah, Wis is scheduled to be the lead contractor. To follow construction progress via webcam, go to: www.bus.wisc.edu/webcam.
The new addition to Grainger Hall will provide a home for each of the MBA career specializations, a huge step forward for the new Wisconsin MBA. It will offer centralized resources for MBA students, including state-of-the-art classrooms, MBA Program Office, MBA Career Center, breakout rooms and a unique multi-purpose Plenary Room. In addition, it will provide upgraded office space and classrooms for the Executive MBA and Evening MBA programs.
The moving of the MBA program and career specialization offices into the addition will free up much-needed space to provide new opportunities for faculty, staff and undergraduate and PhD students in the current Grainger Hall. The overall goal is to make Grainger Hall a much more student-friendly gathering space and learning environment. In terms of outside users, the addition will enable the School of Business to offer spaces that can meet the needs of alumni and corporate constituents, while providing common spaces crucial to unifying the School of Business community.
The $40.5 million addition is being paid for by a $20 million dollar gift (one of the largest in the history of the university) by David W. Grainger, $10.5 million in gift funds and $10 million in general fund-supported borrowing.
Construction on the new addition is scheduled to begin this summer. All people and programs should be in place when classes begin in fall 2008. However, this is a tentative schedule, and construction is not totally predictable, but the School of Business is optimistic that this will be the general timeline. To learn more about the new addition and to remain updated on construction status, please visit www.bus.wisc.edu/graingeraddition.