The Wisconsin State Building Commission met at the Wisconsin State Fair and approved a total of approximately $262 million projects across Wisconsin including $101 million to replace the Cofrin Library on the campus of University of Wisconsin Green Bay.
The UWGB project was initially approved for $96.3 million by the Wisconsin State Legislature. The most recent increase was attributed in part to rising construction costs, increased costs for technology, and higher estimated costs for demolition.
The project includes the demolition of the 187,70-square-foot Cofrin Library and replaces it with a 131,011-square-foot Cofrin Technology and Information Center. The new building will house the library, campus administration, and the departments of Student Success and First Nations Education. The new building will feature sustainable elements like a green roof, solar panels, and natural landscaping.
Project bids will be opened in January and construction is expected to start in spring 2025 with completion scheduled for summer of 2027.
Gov. Tony Evers today announced the Wisconsin State Building Commission met at the Wisconsin State Fair and approved a total of approximately $262 million in key projects across the state.
“The projects approved today are critically important for folks across our state, including upgrades to the Milwaukee Mile Speedway to ensure we are ready for the Milwaukee Mile in 2025, the construction of a new technology and education center at UW-Green Bay, and the land purchase for the new Wisconsin Veterans Museum,” said Gov. Evers. “Among the critically important projects approved today are the facility updates at Lincoln Hills School. These updates will bolster our efforts to help keep staff and youth in our care safe while making necessary changes aimed at ultimately transitioning the facility to an adult institution as we work to close Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake and move our kids closer to home as soon as safely and responsibly can.”
Gov. Evers has long supported efforts to close Lincoln Hills/Copper Lake and reform Wisconsin’s juvenile justice system, having proposed measures to do so in his 2019-21, 2021-23, and 2023-25 state capital budget proposals. In April 2022, Gov. Evers signed Senate Bill 520, now 2021 Wisconsin Act 252, which furthered the eventual closure of Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake Schools following 2017 Wisconsin Act 185 by authorizing up to $41.7 million in bonding for the purpose of constructing a new Type 1 juvenile facility in Milwaukee County. Once the new Type 1 facility is online, the state will be able to begin moving youth housed at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake Schools closer to home safely and responsibly, bringing the state a step closer to allowing the remaining Lincoln Hills facility to be used for adult corrections and helping to alleviate staffing and capacity challenges at other adult institutions.
Highlights of the Commission’s approved projects include:
- Authority to construct the new five-story Cofrin Technology and Education Center that will replace the old high-rise library with a state-of-the-art, multi-use facility. This landmark project will house the library, campus administration, and the departments of Student Success and First Nations Education. The new building will feature sustainable elements like a green roof, solar panels, and natural landscaping. This exciting development will revolutionize the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Green Bay campus, offering cutting-edge academic, technology, and administrative spaces.
