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Home > BizTimes Daily > Archives > October 16, 2009
UW-Oshkosh building will be green
Published October 16, 2009 - BizTimes Daily
The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh today broke ground on its new academic building, a $37 million construction project.
The building is the first new academic construction project at the university in more than 35 years.
The project is estimated to create more than 2,000 jobs over the next three years. The new building also takes strides toward achieving Gov. Jim Doyle's goals for energy efficiency in state-owned buildings.
"The UW-Oshkosh project will support our efforts to grow northeastern Wisconsin and ensure we can meet the growing demand for higher education," Doyle said today. "Our world-class universities have always been the engines that drive Wisconsin. Even in tough times, we must invest in the institutions that will make us stronger in the years ahead. Today, I'm proud we're moving forward on a project that creates thousands of jobs and leads the way toward energy independence."
UW-Oshkosh's new academic building will provide additional classrooms and facilities to serve its record-breaking enrollment increase.
The 191,000-square-foot building will house 14 academic departments and will incorporate clean energy sources and gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) energy efficiency standards. The efficiency measures are estimated to reduce energy use by 45 percent, saving the UW-Oshkosh more than $182,000 annually. The building design also uses recycled and renewable materials and incorporates water efficiency and solar collector technologies.
In 2006, Doyle issued an executive order that requires all existing and new state buildings to conform to high environmental and energy efficiency standards.
Doyle also announced today that as a result of the competitive bidding process, the building came in more than $10 million under budget. The state will invest some of the savings in additional renewable energy projects, including a rooftop photovoltaic system, ground-mounted photovoltaic collectors and wind turbine generators. In total, 14 percent of the building's energy will from renewable sources.
