Hunzinger Enlists Unions to Build Unique Condos
For the past year, union workers have served as the backbone of one of Milwaukee's brightest new projects, the Park Lafayette Condominiums. Set to be completed in June of 2009, the twin 20-story towers presented quite a challenge for the Hunzinger Construction Company (HCC) to construct, which is why they enlisted the help of union trades workers.
“There just aren't any other projects like this,” said Mike Christensen, of HCC, regarding the uniqueness of the project. The Park Lafayette Condominiums feature 270 condo units split between twin 20-story towers, in addition to 10 townhouses and a connecting third-level terrace, all situated on a pie-shaped piece of property just over one acre in size. Interestingly, the financing of the project is being provided by a union investment fund.
During the first stages of this project, HCC sought subcontractors with the highest standards in quality, safety, and coordination, so they signed with the union workers. “It is my sincere belief that union trades people and subcontractors are best trained for all aspects of this project,” said Christensen. “Safety is our number-one objective – every day on every job – and the local union contractors are well-trained on how to work safely and efficiently.”
HCC knew that the Park Lafayette Condominiums required a workforce with particular skills. “The skill sets necessary to work on and complete a project of this size and complexity are best served by using a well-trained union workforce,” said Christensen. In addition, Christensen appreciated the incredibly collaborative working environment the union workers created. “The successful completion of any project is dependent upon the coordinated efforts of each and every trade [involved],” he continued.
While HCC has been responsible for numerous high-profile jobs, Christensen fully understands just how important each aspect is to the overall project. “Subcontractors and their skilled union workforce are absolutely vital to the success of our projects,” he explained. “Without skilled subcontractors, we would not be in business.”
Despite a skilled and able workforce, the project has been faced with numerous difficulties. Record-setting weather throughout the fall and winter of 2007, coupled with a late start and multiple design changes, pushed the project back five months. Nevertheless, Christensen is pleased with the progress. “In spite of the challenges, the project has continued to advance, and with the approved revisions to the project schedule, we are on track to complete Phase 1 by the end of January '09 – and Phase 2 by June of '09,” he said.
By June of 2009, Milwaukee will be able to appreciate the diligent efforts and dedication of their union tradesworkers once again, as the city witnesses the completion of the dazzling Park Lafayette Condominiums.
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