State Fair Park to see rise and fall of structures.

Byline: Jeremy Harrell

State Fair Park will get two new buildings by the start of next year's fair as the State Building Commission took steps Thursday to flesh out the park's $100 million overhaul.

Construction is due to start in October on a $9 million, 74,000-square-foot agricultural building, which will take over operations of some the park's older ag houses, said Robert Brandherm, who runs a consulting business advising the Park Board on its building projects. Bids for the project, which the Building Commission unanimously approved, should go out next month.

The two-story structure, designed by Eppstein Uhen Architects Inc., Milwaukee, will be a three-season building, with portions of the second floor left open for ventilation, he said. The state could easily convert the building to a four-season structure with the installation of air-conditioning and heating, Brandherm said.

At the same time the ag building goes up, the Milwaukee Mile grandstand will come down. General contractor J.H. Findorff & Son Inc., Milwaukee, is leading the renovation and construction of the grandstand, and the firm started taking down pieces of the old grandstand earlier this spring.

On Sept. 18, Findorff's demolition subcontractor, Midwest Rail & Dismantling Inc., Milwaukee, will dynamite the concrete section of the grandstand, which dates from the Depression era.

The ag building is scheduled for completion before the start of next year's fair in August, and the grandstand will be open before the first auto race in June, Brandherm said.