With the creative investment of $68 million, the moribund Kenilworth Building has been transformed into UWM housing and art studios, revitalizing the area. The huge structure, one of the largest buildings on the east side, covers an entire city block from Prospect Ave. to Farwell Ave. at Kenilworth Place.
The original conjoined buildings, constructed in 1914 and 1943, were rebuilt into two facilities, each with 250,000 sq. ft. of space. Kenilworth Square Apartments on Farwell Ave. has 174 units with housing for up to 374 UWM graduate and upper level students. The ground floor has about 13,000 sq. ft. of retail space.
Weas Development Co. developed the complex project for the UW system and the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee. KBS Construction was the general contractor. Roman Electric was the design/build electrical and voice/data/security cabling contractor.
Scott Weas, one of the developer’s partners, said, “The job was unusual in many ways, both in the public/private development structure for the UW System, and the architectural solution implemented. We cut a huge monolithic building in half to construct two attractive buildings. And we did it all in a short time frame to make the housing available for UWM’s fall semester.”
Weas was pleased with Roman’s work. “Roman Electric did a fantastic job,” he said. “We put a lot of trust into a contractor under a design/build model. We get married early and if they can’t deliver we’re kind of stuck. Roman performed from beginning design, early budgeting and preconstruction services through managing and designing the overall project.
“Too often what we hear from our partners is, ‘we’ve got a problem, how are you going to solve it?’ Roman would say ‘here’s the problem, here are your available solutions, help us choose the best option.’ They did very well at meeting overall performance specs and quality standards.” Roman project managers were Bob Czajka and Greg Blaney.
KBS Construction project manager Dave Rhoda said the project was a difficult job requiring structural demolition to separate the existing building into two, then design and construct each to fit its respective function.
“Roman did an excellent job,” he said. “The buildings were designed with unique exposed features including conduit, bus duct and cable trays. Roman did a great job working with the architect to make all the exposed fixtures and infrastructure fit esthetically. I can’t say enough about the work of president Phil Rose and foremen Kevin Schlax and Dave Broz.”
“Great Relationship”
Jefferson Block Apartments at 511 E. Menomonee Avenue in the Historic Third Ward offer 216 one- and two-bedroom units situated on an entire square block.
New Land Enterprises is the owner and general contractor. They constructed one continuous building with five different brick and granite exterior looks that blend into the older neighborhood. Jefferson Block features the latest amenities and appliances.
Roman Electric is handling all the electrical construction. Gerry Burk, New Land vice president - construction, said, "It's a pleasure to work with Roman. Basically the same Roman crews have been working on my jobs for probably the last four years. Right now they're working on Jefferson Block, Cathedral Square and Riverbridge.
"Why Roman? It's a matter of good pricing, available manpower, skilled personnel and a great relationship."
Jeff Kubiszewski is account\manager for Roman and foreman on the job is Greg Klosowski.
“They Make Our Job Easier”
Steeple View, an 81 unit housing complex at 124th and Janesville Road, will provide apartments for independent seniors age 55 and over. Developed by Hales Corners Lutheran Church, Steeple View will offer attractive one- and two-bedroom units ranging from 700 to 1300 sq. ft.
General contractor is Math Starck & Sons Inc. Roman Electric is design/build electrical contractor. Ron Speer is the owner’s representative.
Peter Cook, Math Starck president, has been with the contractor for 35 years. “We’ve done work with Roman for probably 50 years now,” he said. “They do almost all our multi-family units. They’re great people to work with.
“Roman’s work on Steeple View is just what we expect from them. From account manager Jeff Kubiszewski to foreman Jim Grybush to their team of electricians, they’re very professional, talented, knowledgeable and easy to work with. From the top down Roman’s people combine exceptional skill with great attitudes. We like their honesty, integrity, dedicated service and fair price. In short, they make our job easier.”
“Real Pleased with Roman’s Work”
When the wind storm of Tuesday September 13th struck, Roman Electric was quick to respond to WE Energies’ request for service assistance. “The storm was of short duration,” said Jack Koenig, WE Energies supervisor for inspection maintenance programs, “but the strong winds caused an inordinate amount of damage. Downed trees and tree limbs fell on service drops, service masts and customers’ service entrance facilities bringing many down with them.”
WE Energies knew they would spend a good deal of time restoring customer service so they decided to be proactive and put together a storm damage team. To find their repair team, “We looked at electrical contractors we had a history with and hired four, two local and two from out of town because our territory covers portions of the entire state,” Koenig said.
Residential service manager Teri Stanley said, “We Energies knows us. They know we have a large staff of residential electricians and a fleet of service trucks.” By late Wednesday, Roman was confirmed.
On Thursday Roman had up to 15 service trucks with two person crews out in different parts of the city and suburbs on inspect and repair visits. Koenig said the goal was for the electricians to find any damage and work with the customer to do the repairs. He said about a third of the sites visited sustained damage.
Roman crews were out until midnight Thursday, resumed Friday morning at 7:00, and didn’t finish until around 7:00 Friday evening. “We handled 212 calls to inspect and repair as needed,” Stanley said. “The amount of work we completed in such a short time was unbelievable!”
Koenig said the job went extremely well. “We had very good support from the four contractors,” he said, “particularly with Roman Electric, whom I think ended up with about 60% of the site visits. Teri Stanley was just super to work with and had things so well organized on Roman’s end that once we turned the site information over to her she took it from there. The next thing we’d hear back was what they found and whether they had to do some repairs. We’re real pleased with Roman’s work.”
“Roman Did Extremely Well”
Burlington Boardwalk, an attractive new apartment complex in a Picturesque Setting on the Fox River in downtown Burlington, has 128 upscale apartments with the latest appliance, lighting and electrical amenities.
Harmony Homes, Inc. is the general contractor and Bryce Styza Properties is the owner. They first completed a similar apartment complex, The Landing in Waukesha. Roman Electric was the electrical contractor on both projects.
Roman did extremely well,” said owner Bryce Styza. “They met our deadlines and did a nice job with multi-trade revisions and any changes we made to the original plans. They gave us the same team we worked with on The Landing.
“Roman foreman Jeff Muth again did a fine job of running the project. Once again Roman delivered what they promised. They’re professionals and good people to work with.”
Stephen Kassens was Harmony Homes Inc. construction manager. Roman Electric account manager was Jeff Kubiszewski.
“Managed a Tough Project Very Well”
The Sarah Chudnow Campus provides a variety of senior living choices in a stylish new apartment-like facility on a 17 acre site with meadows and woods. The Campus is conveniently located at 10995 N. Market St. in Mequon near synagogues and a variety of shops and services.
General contractor and construction manager for the state-of-the-art facility was Hunzinger Construction Co., Inc. Roman Electric served as design/build contractor for the electrical, voice/data and fire alarm systems.
Independent and assisted living residents can choose one-, two- or three-bedroom well-appointed apartments with the latest amenities. Comfort, safety and security are emphasized to assure peace of mind. Each apartment is equipped with a wireless emergency response system.
Roman TechNet installed the complete voice and data system, as well as three sound systems. Fiber optics lines run from the main data room to each communications closet for data transmission, with copper lines along the same route for voice. Each residential unit is wired with copper lines for communication, and coax for cable TV. TechNet also outfitted each unit with an unusual six jack outlet to accommodate an in-house phone, outside phone line, fax line, computer modem, ancillary help line, and one spare jack.
Hunzinger senior project manager Mike Christensen said, “Sarah Chudnow Campus is a very high-end, very attractive facility. Roman electric managed a tough project very well. They were responsive, proactive, paid attention to detail, and did a great job. The usual good stuff.”
“Great Job”
The huge new Bayshore Town Center in Glendale brings the first lifestyle shopping center to the Milwaukee area. The $360 million expansion of 52-year-old Bayshore Mall combines stores, restaurants, apartments, entertainment, office space and parking on the 68 acre site.
Corna/Kokosing Construction Co. of Westerville, OH was general contractor for the project’s massive centerpiece structure, “Building N.” The developer was Steiner & Associates of Columbus, OH. Bayshore Town Center is the owner. Roman Electric was the electrical contractor for the shell, apartments and several tenants in the huge Building N, largest in the Center.
The mixed-use, six-story Building N measures 580’ by 300’. It will have 25 retailers on the first floor, 2 1/2 levels of parking there and above, and three floors of apartments at the top.
Andy Thompson, Corna/Kokosing project engineer, said, “Even though we were an out-of-town contractor, Roman Electric was very responsive and worked efficiently with us. They had a good crew and things went smoothly. They put in a lot of time in the last month to get us open in time. Roman did a great job.”
“Quality Work”
Tischer & Sons, Inc., carpenter contractors, continues building and remodeling but one of the sons is now the father. Though the number of employees hasn’t increased, the company has prospered through three generations.
Ralph Tischer, president, active in the company for 44 of his 58 years, worked 40 years with his dad, now retired. Ralph’s son Tim, 28, part of the family business for 10 years, is vice president. When a Tischer project calls for electrical work, they like Roman Electric.
“Roman Rose started his electrical contracting company just six blocks from dad’s place,” Ralph Tischer said. “I’ve worked with Roman Electric for over 40 years and my dad worked with them for around 15 years before that. Roman does quality work and they treat us very well.”
A Crew of Highly Skilled Electricians
Continuous Training with an Emphasis on Safety
A fleet of 50 Service and Bucket Trucks
A staff of Professional Engineers, Designers and Technicians
Full Service Design/Build Capability
Wisconsin's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Experts
With the creative investment of $68 million, the moribund Kenilworth Building has been transformed into UWM housing and art studios, revitalizing the area. The huge structure, one of the largest buildings on the east side, covers an entire city block from Prospect Ave. to Farwell Ave. at Kenilworth Place.
Scott Weas, one of the developer’s partners, said, “The job was unusual in many ways, both in the public/private development structure for the UW System, and the architectural solution implemented. We cut a huge monolithic building in half to construct two attractive buildings. And we did it all in a short time frame to make the housing available for UWM’s fall semester.”
Jefferson Block Apartments at 511 E. Menomonee Avenue in the Historic Third Ward offer 216 one- and two-bedroom units situated on an entire square block.
New Land Enterprises is the owner and general contractor. They constructed one continuous building with five different brick and granite exterior looks that blend into the older neighborhood. Jefferson Block features the latest amenities and appliances.
Steeple View, an 81 unit housing complex at 124th and Janesville Road, will provide apartments for independent seniors age 55 and over. Developed by Hales Corners Lutheran Church, Steeple View will offer attractive one- and two-bedroom units ranging from 700 to 1300 sq. ft.
General contractor is Math Starck & Sons Inc. Roman Electric is design/build electrical contractor. Ron Speer is the owner’s representative.
When the wind storm of Tuesday September 13th struck, Roman Electric was quick to respond to WE Energies’ request for service assistance. “The storm was of short duration,” said Jack Koenig, WE Energies supervisor for inspection maintenance programs, “but the strong winds caused an inordinate amount of damage. Downed trees and tree limbs fell on service drops, service masts and customers’ service entrance facilities bringing many down with them.”
On Thursday Roman had up to 15 service trucks with two person crews out in different parts of the city and suburbs on inspect and repair visits. Koenig said the goal was for the electricians to find any damage and work with the customer to do the repairs. He said about a third of the sites visited sustained damage.
Burlington Boardwalk, an attractive new apartment complex in a Picturesque Setting on the Fox River in downtown Burlington, has 128 upscale apartments with the latest appliance, lighting and electrical amenities.
The Sarah Chudnow Campus provides a variety of senior living choices in a stylish new apartment-like facility on a 17 acre site with meadows and woods. The Campus is conveniently located at 10995 N. Market St. in Mequon near synagogues and a variety of shops and services.
General contractor and construction manager for the state-of-the-art facility was Hunzinger Construction Co., Inc. Roman Electric served as design/build contractor for the electrical, voice/data and fire alarm systems.
The huge new Bayshore Town Center in Glendale brings the first lifestyle shopping center to the Milwaukee area. The $360 million expansion of 52-year-old Bayshore Mall combines stores, restaurants, apartments, entertainment, office space and parking on the 68 acre site.
Tischer & Sons, Inc., carpenter contractors, continues building and remodeling but one of the sons is now the father. Though the number of employees hasn’t increased, the company has prospered through three generations.
