As a third-generation company with a 68-year history in Madison, Daniels General Contractors concentrates about 90% of its workload within a 90-mile radius of the city.
“We’re interested in building great communities where our employees live and work,” says Sam Daniels, the firm’s chief operating officer and grandson of company founder Joe Daniels Sr. “It’s not just about pouring concrete, framing walls, or moving dirt; it’s about ultimately building a project that improves the communities we’re all a part of.”
Such commitment is exemplified in the Frautschi Family Learning Center at Olbrich Botanical Gardens on Madison’s east side, for which Daniels served as general contractor. Completed in 2019, the 9,000-square-foot facility is the first dedicated educational space in Olbrich’s 69-year history. Additionally, it received LEED Platinum certification from the U.S Green Building Council — the highest achievement possible for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design designation.
“Olbrich Botanical Gardens’ vision is to be a locally treasured and globally renowned source of beauty and education celebrating the importance of plants in a sustainable world,” says Roberta Sladky, Olbrich’s director. “The Frautschi Family Learning Center … is so flexible that it will serve adults and families, as well as school explorer programs.”
One primary sustainability feature of the facility is the 60,000-gallon cistern, which was built into the Learning Center’s foundation and collects and filters rainwater from the facility into a large stormwater system and meets the new greenhouse’s demands for water throughout the year. Features also include large windows for daylighting and an outdoor rooftop terrace with views of the gardens and Lake Monona. A second component of the project replaced the antiquated production greenhouse built in 1992 with the new greenhouse.
Because Olbrich is a leader in environmentally friendly gardening practices, it was critical that the Frautschi Family Learning Center reflect the highest sustainability measures. “We know this facility will be significant to the community for decades to come,” Daniels says. “We like being part of projects that make an impact, that will be here for generations. Those are the ones we want to pursue, and we’ll say no to other things that might not align as well with the company we want to be.”
Daniels’ community-oriented mission is manifest in several other area projects. They include Goodman Pool, Madison’s first municipal aquatics facility; the Great Dane Duck Blind, which involved converting lightly used shipping containers into fan suites at The Duck Pond, home of the Madison Mallards collegiate summer baseball team; 23 Walgreens throughout the region; and several church addition and remodeling projects.
Located on Applegate Road near the Madison Beltline, Daniels General Contractors recently added a second-floor addition to its own facility, and it employs about 85 people. The average tenure at the employee-owned company is nearly 20 years.
“We don’t want to be the biggest,” Sam Daniels says. “We’re just really focused on being the best, and we try to identify projects that allow us to do that.”
Sam Daniels, COO
608-271-4800
