Issued by: Laura L. Hunt, 414-229-6447;
2/22/08
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UWM selects consultants to assist with comprehensive campus master plan
MILWAUKEE – The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM) announced today that the consulting team of Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc. (HGA), Milwaukee, and Sasaki Associates, Watertown, MA, will assist the university in developing its first comprehensive campus master plan that will be used to steer future campus growth for the next 20 years.
The consultants were selected by a seven-member selection team administered by the Wisconsin Department of Administration.
“I’m very pleased with both the selection and the selection process for this essential next step for our university,” said UWM Chancellor Carlos E. Santiago. “The HGA/Sasaki team clearly listened very closely to the specific master plan issues expressed by campus leaders, and the Department of Administration did an excellent job identifying HGA/Sasaki as having grasped the specific challenges facing UW-Milwaukee.”
Sasaki has a long history of developing research campuses, starting with Princeton’s Forrestal Center nearly 30 years ago. Recent work includes the Innovista mixed-use research district at the University of South Carolina and a research park at Auburn University.
The master planning process will be comprehensive because of aspects such as potential multiple campus locations, a reinvented role for the existing main campus and complex transportation requirements.
Collaborative planning will be guided by the specific academic, research and access goals of UWM, said the chancellor. It will also address the unique strengths of the existing infrastructure of the Milwaukee metropolitan area.
Specifically, the master plan will make evaluations and future recommendations regarding land use; space use; image and identity; access, vehicular and pedestrian circulation; parking and transit services, building opportunities; open space, recreation and athletics; utilities and other infrastructure for existing and potential new campus growth and locations. It will also address the issues of the neighboring communities and metropolitan areas, historic cultural resources and environmental sustainability.
Ongoing academic planning will drive the physical master planning which is expected to take about two years and will be wide-ranging and inclusive. The planning committee and consultants will seek input from numerous stakeholders both on and off campus.
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UWM Master Plan--2
In July 2007, the UW Board of Regents approved $2 million for the master plan, and in August 2007, the state Building Commission granted the state the authority to hire a master plan consultant. The funding for the master plan is part of funding recommended by Gov. Jim Doyle in the 2007-2009 capital budget for studies of an engineering campus and a school of public health.
It was determined that a portion of these funds would be used for a master plan for all UWM properties.
The first task HGA/Sasaki will undertake involves data collection and analysis of existing conditions. To track progress, log on to the master plan web page, .
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(CONTACT: Tom Luljak, 414-750-4783, .)