New Milwaukee Hotel on the Rise

Construction of the Potawatomi Bingo Casino hotel began in Summer 2012. It has gone from a flat surface with miles of piles being pounded in the ground to now visible floors starting to take shape.  This represents only a small portion of the work that needs to be done to be ready to open in 2014.

Foundation Finished—Concrete Being Poured

The structure and deep foundation for the 20-story tower has been the first step. “We have driven almost 19 miles of pipes into the ground to create the deep foundation system that will support the tower,” said Kyle Merrill, Gilbane Building Company Project Manager. “The next step was to start to build floors.”

The second floor was the first floor to be built. That floor will house all the mechanicals, such as air handling and electrical distribution, for levels one through four.

The concrete for the third floor has just been poured. Once a floor has concrete in place, the next day the workers start constructing columns for the next floor above. This pattern will continue until the 20th floor is reached.

Hotel Project is Creating Jobs

Right now iron workers are building metal cages to create the columns, while carpenters create the wood forms for the concrete and plumbers and electricians are installing sleeves and pipes for what they will need in the rooms. 

“There are about 75 workers on-site right now,” said Merrill.  “At the peak of the project, sometime in October or November, we expect to have 400 people working on the hotel at the same time. There will be people performing different tasks on every floor.”

Major Milestone Approaching

The milestone they are currently focused on is to get the fifth floor concrete poured which should happen by the end of April. Once the project reaches the fifth floor, crews can then begin to install window frames and walls on the lower floors.

Within a span of three floors, windows will be installed below, while a new floor is being poured above. It takes 150 working days per floor to complete a typical hotel build out.

Safety is a Priority

A project of this size requires a lot of coordination and commitment to safety to bring it all together. “Safety is a top priority for us,” Merrill added. “So far, we have had zero lost-time accidents.  Safety will continue to be a focus as we increase our manpower.”

Reported by:  Potawatomi Bingo Casino