After the completion of Phase I, the Overture Center is preparing to begin Phase II of its construction plan, the construction team for the Overture Center announced at a meeting Wednesday.
\We're very pleased to announce that work on Phase II of Overture Center for the Arts is set to begin on April 1,"" said President of the Overture Development Corporation George Austin.
The preliminary stages of Phase II include the deconstruction of Radical Rye, 231 State St., and Madison Masala, 227 State St. Construction is to begin July 2004. The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art will move from its current site and will be completed in spring 2006. The renovation of Oscar Meyer Theatre and Isthmus Playhouse will also begin, culminating in late 2005.
""We hope to minimize the amount of inconvenience and dust to the public [during the deconstruction],"" said Findorff Sr. Project Manager Larry Thomas. ""But there's still going to be some.""
Fencing is going to be placed around the construction site around June 1, Thomas said. This event will mark the site preparation stage of the project and make the public aware construction is going to take place.
The construction team has also gotten lucky concerning its plans regarding a mechanical penthouse on the Phase II site.
Thomas said the process of supporting the penthouse is going to be much easier than trying to move the entire structure, as the plan originally proposed.
As Phase II proceeds, Madison's State Street Mall reconstruction project will also be underway, according to City of Madison engineer Steve Gohde.
""We have been working very closely with the Overture Project to coordinate construction and make sure everything is buttoned up ... prior to the Phase I opening,"" he said. This project, he added, includes reconstruction of many blocks downtown including portions of State Street near the Overture Center.
Phase I of the project, according to Developer's Representative Mike Huffman, was successful in reusing 75 percent of on-site material, saving 1,453 truckloads from being landfill fodder. The ease by which Phase I was completed is making members such as Austin look forward to Phase II and its effects on Madison.
""We are committed to being a good neighbor,"" Austin said, ""and we're participating in the continuing rejuvenation of downtown Madison.""
