The Walnut at Westlawn Gardens was honored at The Daily Reporter’s 21st annual Top Projects awards on Thursday, October 1, 2020. The event recognizes outstanding achievements by Wisconsin builders, owners, engineers, architects and more.

Named for beautiful walnut panels that line its lobby, The Walnut is a new sustainably-designed 47-unit apartment building in the Westlawn Gardens neighborhood on Milwaukee’s northwest side. The 50,665 square foot building is a powerful visual addition to the neighborhood with modern design features and a distinctive burnt orange color palette and additional external highlights that complement other new buildings in the area. The Walnut was built to Westlawn Gardens’ LEED ND Silver standards.

Resident comfort was paramount in the building’s design, which includes 26 one-bedroom and 21 two-bedroom units. Each unit features its own high-efficiency heating and cooling system, as well as a private balcony or porch. Units include ovens, microwaves, and refrigerators, with the addition of garbage disposals and dishwashers in all two-bedroom units. Residents also have access to individual lockable storage units, laundry facilities and comfortable common sitting areas on each floor, trash removal chutes from upper floors, game/craft spaces in common areas, a community meeting space on the first floor, and digital signage in lobbies to keep residents aware of community events and transit updates. The building provides extra security with access between common areas and residential units controlled by access card. A large retail bay with exterior patio on the first floor provides commercial space to serve neighborhood retail needs.

The project provided significant growth and development opportunities for Emerging Business Enterprises (EBEs) – minority, women-owned and other historically disadvantaged businesses. Over 45% of contracts for the project were awarded to EBE’s, and 31% of contracts went to Section 3 businesses, which are owned by or primarily staffed by low-income, local individuals.

Travaux, Inc. served as general contractor on the project and design/architect services were provided by Torti Gallas and Partners, Inc, Eppstein Uhen Architects, Inc, and Quorum Architects, Inc. Engineering services were provided by Pierce Engineers, Inc., Czarnecki Engineering, Thunderbird Engineering, Inc., and R.A. Smith National. Landscape architecture services were provided by Ayers Associates Inc.

The project was funded primarily through 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits awarded by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA).

The Hmong American Peace Academy (HAPA) celebrated the construction progress of its new 99,000 square foot high school on its main campus at 4601 N. 84th Street in Milwaukee’s Lindsay Park neighborhood. Construction began this summer and is expected to be complete by August 2021. Travaux is serving as the owner’s representative for the project.

Joining Chris Her-Xiong, founder and executive director of HAPA, for the socially-distanced event were Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Alderwoman Nikiya Dodd, Milwaukee Development Commissioner Lafayette Crump, City of Milwaukee Housing Authority Executive Director Tony Pérez, HAPA Board Chair and Northwestern Mutual executive Jason Handal, among others.

“Today is about more than a building,” said Chris Her-Xiong, founder and executive director of the Hmong American Peace Academy. “Rather, it is about the promise we are making to our scholars, their families, and our broader community that a high quality education – especially one filled with abundant love, joyfulness, and high expectations – can transform lives and lead the way out of poverty and into a prosperous life of service. By taking the courageous step forward to build a high school designed to best support our scholars academic and extracurricular pursuits, we are underscoring our ambition to become one of the very best schools in Wisconsin.”

On August 19, 2020, The Daily Reporter honored Travaux’s Alison Woznicki for her achievements in the construction industry at their virtual Women in Construction awards celebration.

Alison is a project manager for Travaux, the development arm of the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM). With a Bachelor’s of Science in Building Construction Manager and a minor in Business from University of Wisconsin at Platteville, Alison has 15 years of experience overseeing multi-million dollar construction projects, including manufacturing, education, and affordable housing projects for both public and private sector clients. Throughout her career in the construction industry, she has had the opportunity to gain valuable experience and hone her project management skills. Her exceptional communication and relationship management style make her an asset to every project she undertakes. Alison is a true team player and holds an excellent track record of strong working relationships with a multitude of stakeholders, resulting in successful construction experiences.

In her current role with Travaux, Alison is required to serve in a variety of capacities to fulfill her wide range of responsibilities. She is involved in all stages of a project, from planning and procurement through construction. She is also part of the development of projects working directly with the investment community, architects, accountants, environmentalists, and more. Alison is extremely adept at understanding what it takes to build successful deals. Her ability to adapt positively and constructively to all audiences is of great value to Travaux.

In her two and a half years with Travaux, she has effectively completed several projects on time and on budget. Alison’s latest project is the renovation of Holton Terrace, a nine-story, 120-unit affordable housing development for seniors and disabled adults. She has been organizing the schedule, bidding, and construction phases of the renovation. Last year, she was involved in resident meetings to inform them of the project status and continues to provide essential information regarding the schedule and financing to all parties involved. This project has become uniquely challenging in that construction is now taking place in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. She is working directly with residents living onsite and assisting them with their relocation while keeping everyone’s safety and wellbeing as her highest priority. She is also effectively and empathetically answering questions and concerns about construction, defusing resident tension, and advocating to her leaders for resident recommended changes.

Alison is a conscientious worker who uses her education and work experience for top tier results. She is a highly respect leader in the office and on jobsites. Alison is approachable, authentic, hardworking, and has a passion for always do what is right. She is a great ally to all and comes to work driven to perform.