A 38,000-square-foot visitor center and Wesley W. Jung Carriage Museum building will be built at the Wade House historic site in Greenbush, located in western Sheboygan County. The Wade House is an historic inn built in 1850.
Construction of the visitor’s center and carriage museum is expected to begin in November and be complete by June of 2013, in time for the 50th anniversary of the historic site’s original dedication.
"This facility will be not only an exciting addition to the Wade House experience, but also a great benefit to the community of Greenbush as well as Sheboygan and Fond du Lac counties," said Ellsworth Brown, director of the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Milwaukee-based Uihlein-Wilson Architects designed the facility. The general contractor for the project will be Fond du Lac-based C.D. Smith Construction. Additional contractors include: Port Washington-based J&H Heating, which will install the HVAC systems and Sheboygan-based Sprecht Electric Co., which will do the electrical work.
About half of the $12 million cost of the project will be paid for by private donations. The state Legislature appropriated $6.5 million in state funds for the project, through the sale of general purpose revenue bonds to private investors. A federal grant provided $800,000 for the project. A special state fund for financing geothermal heating and cooling provided $150,000 for the project.
The project is designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED silver status.
