Start 20: Children's Hospital Medical Office Building and Parking Garage
Cost: $97 million

Construction began in November on a medical office building parking structure on the campus of Children's Hospital in Wauwatosa, Wis.

The 1,600-space parking garage will be complete in December, followed by the eight-story, 240,000-sq. ft. office building in late 2005.

The building will house offices for physicians - not spaces for patient visitations - and offices for support staff.

"There will also be a tunnel to connect the new building with Froedert Hospital," said Julie Pedretti, director of public relations for Children's Hospital Health System. She said that this building will also link to the Children's Hospital via an existing tunnel between Froedert and Children's.

Near Other Medical Buildings

Although there is and expanse of green-field space around the structure that provides adequate staging and parking on site, the project's close proximity to a large complex of medical buildings raises a different set of site concerns.

"We have had to be sensitive to Children's Hospital, Froedert Hospital and the Medical College in terms of noise, vibration and fumes from diesel exhaust," said Nick Stromer, project manager and vice president of project management for Oscar J. Boldt Construction, the general contractor.

Truck access to the site is limited to one route to minimize truck noise and exhaust. Trucks both enter and exit from the west, as far as possible from the existing medical buildings.

"We have outfitted all of our equipment with scrubbers on the exhaust systems," Stromer said. "We also communicate with the neighbors to make sure they know what's coming."

Looking ahead, Stromer said that great care is going into the integrity of the building's curtain wall and brick masonry skin, ensuring that there will be no moisture or water filtration.

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