(The Center Square) – Wisconsin will be spending more than $15 million additional on a new crime lab in Milwaukee after the State Building Commission approved increasing the project cost for the project at a meeting this week.
The total project will now cost an estimated $115.5 million to taxpayers for a completed Department of Justice Milwaukee Forensic Science Protective Medicine Collaboration project.
The lab is part of a larger facility that will include Milwaukee County 911, the Medical Examiner’s office of Milwaukee County and Versiti Blood Research.
The state will own 50% of the building, scheduled to open in May 2026.
The new facility was justified because the Department of Justice says the current facility is overcrowded with outdated equipment and it cannot maintain with a substandard facility.
“This project requires a budget increase due to the cost impact of unanticipated timeline delays in an unprecedented inflationary environment,” a department report said. “Specifically, extended negotiations, the design timeline for the facility, and changes in the financing solution delayed the project timeline. In addition, unanticipated winter conditions on the construction site and delayed earthwork and soil excavation that would have been completed during the spring and summer months were shifted to winter.”
The increased cost of the crime lab was part of more than $103 million in spending approved by the building commission.
The commission also approved spending $500,000 for 22 projects as part of the state’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.
“Whether it’s working to preserve and protect Wisconsin’s proud tradition of conservation that has defined our state for generations, upholding our commitment to support systems that address crime and keep kids, families, and communities safe, or investing in the higher education institutions that are key to the future economic growth and prosperity of our state, all of the projects approved by the Commission today get at the heart of many of our key priorities as a state,” Gov. Tony Evers said.
The commission also agreed to spend an estimated $20 million on utility improvements at the Mendota Mental Health Institute. The work includes new steam, chilled water, electric, telecommunication, storm sewer, sanitary sewer and domestic water utilities. The current utilities are 70 years old.
The state also plans to spend $25 million to build a new three-story dorm at the Wisconsin School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
