West Lawn - Phase II Milwaukee, WI

Champion Environmental Services, Inc. was awarded the hazardous material abatement, building demolition, and site clearance for Phase II at the Westlawn Housing Development in Milwaukee, WI.

The project involves 29 multiunit buildings. The initial phase will be dedicated to the abatement of asbestos containing floor tile/mastic, fittings on fiberglass insulation, transite panels, window caulk, paper duct wrap, and sink undercoating.

After the apartments are properly abated and receive final air clearances, the demolition crew will proceed with wrecking the units. Champion Environmental Services, Inc. anticipates a recycling rate of nearly 97%.

This effort is part of a larger initiative by The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA). According to a press release by WHEDA on December 3, 2010, the project will evolve into “ . . .the North End - Phase 2 development to construct two, five-story apartment buildings totaling 155 units of rental housing. The program requires the property to set aside 20% of its units for low and moderate income residents. Specifically, 31 apartment units in North End - Phase 2 will be set aside for households at or below 60% of Milwaukee's County Median Income”.

Phase I of Westlawn was recently completed by Champion Environmental Services, Inc.

What Demolition Wrought – The Other Side

Photo by Corey Hengen

Often, only one side of demolition is acknowledged in the process; frequently, that element focuses on taking components away from the local landscape. The central aspect of much of our work signals the beginning of something new, enhanced, and greatly improved.

There is a strong current of nationwide activism that advocates alternatives to demolition. Such campaigners readily cite environmental factors in an effort to postpone or deny knocking buildings down. Never realized in these debates is the fact that the environmental quality through these initiatives is greatly improved.

I can confidently decree that our company does more to improve the environment and health of people on any given day than most of these activists could accrue in a lifetime.

Our results are measureable and can be quantified; Champion Environmental Services, Inc. mitigates harmful lead, removes asbestos/PCB’s/mercury/Freon/ and ensures the extensive recycling of materials as opposed to the simple encumbrance of landfill dumping.

When Champion Environmental Services, Inc. demobilizes from a job site, we leave knowing that a cleaner, safer, and healthier environment for generations to come is accessible.

The Following article appeared yesterday in the “Daily Reporter”. Champion Environmental Services, Inc. is the asbestos abatement and demolition contractor for the Westlawn Project in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Our endeavor will provide a desirable resolution to a weathered problem. The redevelopment will eventually provide clean, safe, affordable housing to low-income families, the elderly, and those with special needs.

I want to acknowledge that the article was written by Marie Rohde; the photograph was taken by Corey Hengen, and future rendering of the site is from the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee.

Welcome to the neighborhood: Westlawn ready for remake (UPDATE)
Published: October 6, 2010
By Marie Rohde

The city of Milwaukee is ready to tear down the largest public housing project in the state and replace it with a neighborhood.

“When you drive by Westlawn, there’s no mistaking that it’s a housing project,” said Paul Williams, a spokesman for the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee. “We want to change that.”
The Westlawn housing complex, a series of barracks-style buildings, is on 75 acres bordered by 60th and 64th streets, Silver Spring Drive and the Lincoln Creek.

The redevelopment is intended to break down the boundaries that isolate the complex from the rest of the community. The new Westlawn will be a mixture of privately owned homes and housing for seniors, the disabled and the poor.

Homes that will sell at market rates will be built around the perimeter of the complex. Carolyn Esswein, adjunct assistant professor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Department of Urban Planning who is familiar with the plans, said those homes are attractive because they will be on 35- to 40-foot-wide lots while the average city lot is 25 feet.

“That’s been done elsewhere and the homes have sold quickly,” she said. “But it could be a matter of timing, and the economy right now could have an impact. There are a lot of people who want to buy vacant lots in the city, but they can’t get over the hurdles of financing.”

The market rate homes, according to city plans, will not be built until at least 2012.

Westlawn’s isolation was like that of other public housing built in the 1950s, and the redevelopment reflects changing attitudes toward public housing across the country, Esswein said.

The new Westlawn, for instance, would have streets connecting the complex to the rest of neighborhood.

“Right now, Westlawn is cut off from the rest of the neighborhood,” Esswein said. “When they connect the streets to the rest of the neighborhood and people can walk in and out, the residents will feel like part of the larger community.”

The plans also call for a small pharmacy and 12,500 square feet of commercial development for North 60th Street and West Silver Spring Drive. That was a response to requests from residents and another effort to connect the complex to the broader community, Williams said.

Residents who live in the east half of the complex have been moved to temporary housing, and demolition of those buildings has begun, Williams said. Those residents will be offered units in the new development, he said.

Construction on the eastern half, estimated at $101 million, is expected to begin in March and be completed in 2012.

The housing authority’s nonprofit partner, Friends of Housing, an organization involved in the senior housing portion of the development, will share part of that cost, Williams said. The project also got $7.4 million in tax credits to provide incentive for the development of affordable housing for low-income residents.
The second phase of the redevelopment will be built after 2012 and be about the same size and cost.

Williams said there is a need for low-income housing in the city. The waiting list for Westlawn has been closed for six months and has some 3,000 applicants awaiting
housing assignments.

Nancy Frank, a UWM urban planning associate professor, said the renovation of other housing projects has been controversial, such as with Chicago’s infamous Cabrini Green complex, where a mixed-use development replaced a traditional housing project.
“The question is whether they will provide fewer housing units for the poor,” Frank said.

The housing in the first phase will include one building with 94 single-bedroom units set aside for seniors and the disabled, Williams said. Another 160 town houses for families will be built there, he said.

Jim Bartos, executive director of the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center, said the remake will help the housing complex better mesh with the surrounding area.

“I think it’s going to be transformative for the whole neighborhood,” he said. “It’s going to be a stimulus for other development.”


Rendering by the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee

Tower Automotive-Century City

Champion Environmental Services, Inc. is kicking off the redevelopment of Milwaukee’s shuttered Tower Automotive property as part of the city's $34.6 million plan to redevelop an 84-acre portion of the site. Most of the area is being transformed into a business park; Spanish train manufacturer Talgo is the first tenet to lease a portion of the development.

Century City will be the new venue for U.S. high-speed passenger rail manufacturing and assembly creating 125 direct jobs in Wisconsin and about 450 indirect jobs through vendors throughout the Midwest.

In January, Governor Doyle announced Wisconsin will receive $823 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to build high-speed rail service to connect its centers of commerce. Wisconsin is receiving $810 million to build high-speed passenger rail service between Milwaukee and Madison, $12 million to improve service between Chicago and Milwaukee, and $1 million to make final determinations on a route between Wisconsin and the Twin Cities – the next step toward connecting Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison with the Twin Cities.

Champion Environmental Services, Inc. is proud to support this important economic initiative. Some pictures of our demolition work are below.

Marquette University

Another photograph from our work at Marquette University published in the “Daily Reporter”. Photo credit goes to John Krejci.

Marquette University

A photograph from our work at Marquette University published in the “Daily Reporter”.

Just In From The Field – Marquette University

Demolition began yesterday for Marquette University’s new engineering school; below is a picture sent in from our Field Superintendent.

Champion’s Contribution to New State of Wisconsin Demolition Recycling Program

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced the implementation of mandatory recycling on all state construction and demolition projects. The initiative will officially begin January 1, 2010.

Champion Environmental Services, Inc., a pioneer of waste reduction in building demolition, took part in several state project studies dating back to 2007; our demolition efforts were monitored and documented by WasteCap Resource Solutions.

Findings were reported back to Governor Jim Doyle, the Wisconsin Department of Administration Division of State Facilities (DSF) and Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Champion provided WasteCap Resource Solutions onsite empirical accreditation along with open interviews of key project managers/field superintendents who clarified the implementation strategies of our best practices for demolition recycling.

Champion’s innovative approach to material recycling help guide recommendations presented to the Wisconsin Department of Administration Division of State Facilities (DSF) and Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The press release about the program is below.

Interagency cooperation leads to recycling on State of Wisconsin projects
News Release Published: October 19, 2009 by the Central Office
Contact(s): Ann Coakley, DNR Waste and Materials Management Program Director, (608) 261-8449

Recycling required on state construction projects over
$5 million and state demolition projects as of Jan. 1, 2010

MADISON – Wisconsin should see less construction and demolition (C&D) debris in its landfills come the first of the year. A unique partnership among two state agencies and a nonprofit organization has shown that C&D projects throughout Wisconsin can successfully recycle. Based on these results, the Division of State Facilities will be requiring C&D waste to be recycled rather than put in landfills. This will apply to State of Wisconsin construction projects over $5 million and demolition projects advertised for bid after January 1, 2010. The efforts will reduce waste disposal costs, conserve landfill space and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The encouraging results come from a pilot project in which the nonprofit WasteCap Resource Solutions (formerly WasteCap Wisconsin) worked with the Department of Administration Division of State Facilities (DSF) under a contract with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The goal of the project, which began in 2007, was to develop methods, standards and trained staff to result in successful, measured C&D debris recycling on state projects.

Nationally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates more than 170 million tons of C&D debris are generated each year. In Wisconsin, C&D debris—much of which is recyclable—represents a huge proportion of the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream. A 2002 DNR study found that C&D debris made up nearly 30 percent of the MSW stream, with five of the top 10 largest single components of the MSW being materials found in C&D debris, including untreated wood and shingles as the first and third largest components, respectively.

In recent years, the state of Wisconsin annually approved about $400 million to $500 million for construction, making state projects one of the largest sources of C&D debris generated in Wisconsin.

“We recognized this was a significant effort, not only because of the potential to reuse and recycle C&D debris from state projects,” said Jenna Kunde, executive director of WasteCap. “We knew if we could give contractors experience with C&D reuse and recycling and make it a part of the way they do business with the state; it would have the potential to allow them to implement successful C&D recycling on projects throughout Wisconsin and beyond. It’s a result we’re already seeing realized.”

The inspiration for the project came from Gov. Jim Doyle’s 2005 Conserve Wisconsin Agenda, in which he committed to following green building standards for state buildings and set a 50 percent recycling goal for all state projects. In response, the DSF developed a Sustainable Facilities Policy and Guidelines, including C&D debris management guidelines.

At the same time, the DNR contracted with WasteCap, a nonprofit organization that provides waste reduction and recycling assistance for the benefit of business and the environment, to work with the DSF on the implementation of C&D debris recycling on state projects.

“By any measure, this effort has been a success,” said Dave Haley, State Chief Architect and Deputy Director of the Bureau of Architecture and Engineering for the Department of Administration. “Every pilot project exceeded the 50 percent goal and many of the contractors that recycled on these projects are now recycling on other projects where they are not required to recycle. These projects have an average 84.8 percent recycling rate and have diverted 41,771 tons of material to date—the equivalent of removing 1,500 cars from the road for one year.”
Here are the results:

•UW Madison Biochemistry Phase II (Demolition and Construction)
Recycling rate: 99.12 percent
Tons diverted to date: 25,592
•UW Parkside New Residence Hall Construction
Recycling rate: 60 percent
Tons diverted: 334
•UW Stevens Point – Balwin Hall Renovation
Recycling rate: 90.65 percent
Tons diverted: 231
•UW Superior-Rothwell Student Center Replacement (Demolition and Construction)
Recycling rate: 95.75 percent
Tons diverted to date: 1,339
•UW Whitewater Hyland Hall, Demolition Phase
Recycling rate: 97.65 percent
Tons diverted: 13,694
•UW Whitewater Hyland Hall, Construction Phase
Recycling rate: 65.65 percent
Tons diverted: 581

“We are very pleased with the example this project has set,” said Ann Coakley, director of the DNR Waste and Materials Management Program. “The work the DSF and WasteCap have done, with input from DNR staff, has laid the groundwork for the development of robust C&D recycling markets in Wisconsin and trained some of the state’s biggest contractors in recycling best management practices. This project has helped make Wisconsin a national leader in C&D recycling.”

Additional Resources (both links exit DNR): Governor Doyle’s Conserve Wisconsin agenda and Division 1 Construction Waste Management specifications