Bryant & Stratton College’s renovation and expansion plans for its Wauwatosa campus include conversion of an existing warehouse into an athletic training room, 10 new athletic offices and a new student union space.
The for-profit, New York-based college has filed plans with the city detailing the proposed modifications to its campus, located at 10950 W. Potter Road. The Wauwatosa Plan Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposal when it meets on Monday, April 20.
Plans include the new roughly 5,900-square-foot athletic training space, locker rooms, athletic offices, two new meeting rooms in the campus library, new student union area, e-sports gaming lab and new open space for career services, among other things.
“The additional meeting rooms, athletic rooms, offices and other areas will greatly benefit (Bryant & Stratton) in its mission to provide students with the career skills needed to succeed in their chosen field while also imparting valuable intangibles such as critical thinking, problem solving, team work, and time management, and will benefit the surrounding community as a result,” project representatives wrote in a letter to the city, dated March 10.
Greg Brandner, Bryant & Stratton athletic director and state director, said work is slated to begin by the end of the month and conclude in August.
“We want to get everything done by late August to be ready for our fall semester, which starts Sept. 9,” he said.
The project is meant to address the needs of the growing campus. Brandner said the two areas growing the most are the health care academic programs and the athletics department.
The athletics program on campus started four years ago, and consisted of three teams and 40 athletes, Brandner said. In the coming fall semester, he said the college anticipates having 19 teams with about 800 athletes.
The newest addition to that department is the e-sports league. The one-year-old team started with 17 players and is expected to have 35 players in the fall, he said.
Brandner added that 80% of the student body at the Wauwatosa campus is enrolled in a health care-related program, such as nursing or medical assisting.
Ryan Ratajewski, associate athletic director and state marketing director for Bryant & Stratton, said the college decided to make the renovations after a deal to relocate the campus to a former Pick ‘n Save building in West Allis didn’t move forward.
Floor plans of the athletic training room depict yoga space, weight area, cardio equipment and batting tunnels. Work to be done to this room includes installation of rubber flooring, new paint and lighting, new restrooms and replacement of an existing garage door with a plexiglass one along with a regular exterior door.
Brandner said the weight room and batting tunnels represent new space within the college’s building footprint. Roughly half of the 58,000 square feet of existing space will be renovated as part of the project, he said.
About one-third of the building is occupied by an industrial tenant.
Bryant & Stratton also plans to install a new permanent sidewalk on the east side of the building, and will place three temporary trailers in the parking lot to accommodate classroom and office functions while renovations took place.
Founded in 1854, Bryant & Stratton has 20 campuses throughout the U.S. and has an enrollment of approximately 13,800 students.
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