Milwaukee River Flushing Station
1701 Lincoln Memorial Drive, Milwaukee, WI
Interpretive Center/Café
Completion in June 2002
3,000 s.f. single-story building plus 600 s.f. mezzanine
$450,000 building renovation
$335,000 sitework
A joint venture between the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District and Alterra Coffee Roasters, the project is devoted to education, ecology, and resource efficiency. The City of Milwaukee constructed the Flushing Station in 1888 to address the growing problem of "the river nuisance". Located on the shore of Lake Michigan, the pump was designed to move more than 500,000,000 gallons of lake water per day through a 12' diameter underground tunnel to flush the lower Milwaukee River of excessive pollution and waste. The pump is fully functional and in original condition although it was converted from coal power to electricity in 1912.
Currently the building is on the National Engineering Register and the City of Milwaukee Register of Historic Places. The building will be reused as an interpretive center to teach the public about preservation and conservation as well as wastewater technology. Public sculpture in the café and extensive sitework will educate the community about Wisconsin watershed conservation and stormwater management. MMSD is widely considered to be a leader in municipal wastewater treatment and the Milwaukee River Flushing Station, functioning but no longer in use, will serve as a fascinating wayside on the road to sustainability.
Green Benefits:
- Educational tool for community, customers and employees
- Reduced non-renewable energy consumption
- Reduced Operating Costs
- Reduced waste
- Reduced stormwater load
- Increased employee productivity
- Recharge groundwater
Site:
- On-site treatment of runoff from parking lot
- Rainwater storage for irrigation
- Rescue and relocate 18 mature trees from the soon-to-be-bulldozed County Nursery, the future site of an MMSD detention pond
- Onsite composting
- Extensive landscaping to reduce heat islands as well as reduce typical shallow-root lawn
- Indigenous planting to increase drought resistance
- Recycled granite instead of concrete paving to increase porous surface and reduce stormwater load
- Remaining concrete contains high concentration of recycled glass and fly ash
- Extra bike racks, proximity to Oak Leaf Trail, water bottle fill facility
- Contaminated soils capped instead of off-site incineration and disposal
- Careful design of landscape lighting reduces candlepower and light pollution
- Demolished concrete sent to recycling plant
Energy Efficiency:
- 100% of electrical demand supplied by "Energy for Tomorrow"; Wisconsin Electric's alternative energy program
- High-efficiency, geothermal heat pumps use lake water for source and sink
- Estimated 39% reduction in heating cost
- Estimated 61% reduction in cooling cost
- High efficiency lighting for retail area
- Energy modeling to increase efficiency
Indoor Environmental Quality:
- In-floor hydronic heating
- Fresh air turnover rates exceed code
- Carefully designed interior to minimize painted surfaces
- Evaporative cooling in summer and humidification in winter enhanced by indoor kinetic water sculpture
- Step-dimming daylight controls
- Low-consumption plumbing fixtures
Materials:
- Reuse 100% of existing building shell, at least 50% of non-shell
- Reused and recycled steel beams salvaged from local building
- Salvaged heavy timbers from local factory
- Recycled hardwood floors salvaged from local factory
- Steel fittings and pipe accumulated during demolition and excavation are reused in found-object sculpture
- Reused antique water fountain
- Recycled lumber for stair treads
- Footings poured into fabric forms instead of traditional wood formwork
Owner: Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District
Sheila Charnon (414) 225-2134
SCharnon@mmsd.com
Tenant: Alterra Coffee Roasters
Paul Miller (414) 273-3747
paul@alterracoffee.com
Architect: Engberg Anderson Design Partnership, Inc.
Bill Robison (414) 944-9000
billr@eadp.com
Artist Joe Niedzialkowski
920-528-7854
jski@excel.net
General Contractor: Dahlman Construction Company
J.S. Dahlman (414) 962-3102
js@dahlmancc.com
Mechanical Design: Air Care, Inc.
John Koll (920) 356-8860
jkoll@fdldotnet.com
Electrical Engineer: IBC Engineering Services
Mitch Hyra (262) 549-1190
mitchh@ibcengineering.com
Landscape Architecture: Buettner & Associates
Gerard Rewolinski (414) 351-7080
gerard@buettner.biz
