As the Isthmus continues to evolve, the 10-story AT&T building at 316 W. Washington Ave. has undergone a nearly $20 million facelift, complete with windows where there once was stone, fresh landscaping, and eager tenants.
It’s a remarkable turnaround for a space one of those new tenants — Filament Games — says used to resemble a bunker. And according to project developer Hovde Properties, it’s been driven largely by youthful companies.
“In some of our current office buildings we were seeing an increasing demand for full floor users, in particular young tech-based and startup companies looking for raw, open floor plans,” says Mike Slavish, president of Hovde Properties. “These predominantly younger users were looking for something very different from their parent’s office space — office space that could provide an open environment and the right experience so that they could attract and retain young talent.”
Slavish says the massive renovation began in November 2014 and is scheduled for completion October 1. Depending on the day, anywhere from 40 to 75 people are working on the renovation.
Slavish notes the 214,800-square-foot building includes two levels of underground parking and at full occupancy will hold between 15 and 20 tenants, which will predominantly be well-established local tech-based companies.
Filling the space
Among the very first tenants is Filament Games, a 10-year-old developer of digital learning games for all ages, most recently located in Madison’s Atwood neighborhood.
Lee Wilson, Filament’s CEO, couldn’t be more excited about the new company’s digs on the building’s top floor, which Filament moved into on Monday, July 6.
“Filament Games is very committed to sustainability and the idea of participating in the recycling of an entire building appealed to us a lot,” Wilson explains. “Plus, the building has really good bones. It was originally designed as, frankly, a bit of a bunker. It was built right after the bombing at the university back in the 1970s. Hovde Properties had a real vision for how to open it up and bring light in, and we could see how that was really going to change things.”
Occupying the entire top floor of the building, Filament’s space features views of both lakes and the Capitol out of 16-foot, floor-to-ceiling windows. It’s actually the old cafeteria floor for AT&T, and Wilson says according to a couple of the AT&T folks Filament staff spoke with it had been sitting mostly unused for about 20 years.
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In Filament’s hands the space has undergone a sizeable transformation.
“We believe very strongly in an open floor plan,” Wilson notes. “I’m a CEO but I don’t have an office. I’m out on the floor with everyone else. One of the things I’m most excited about is with the open floor plan we’re going to mobile desks — all the desks will be on casters. So, if you get formed into a new team, you just unplug your computer, roll your desk over to the new team and plug in. We’ve designated a quiet area on the floor, so if you need to concentrate for a day or two and not be interrupted you roll your desk over to the quiet area and people know to leave you alone there. Or, if you just want to move because you want a change of scenery, you can do that. People are not chained to a location on the floor anymore. With the kind of work we do, where we’re always getting new projects and reforming teams, it’s going to help us manage that process more fluidly.”
Wilson notes because Filament produces all of the audio for its games in-house, its new space also features a full recording studio complete with a control room, which is a major step up from the closet they previously had designated for audio.
“We’ve also built a training center since we work so closely with schools,” Wilson says. “That’s something we want all the area school districts to know about. If the training center is not booked for something else, area schools can hold meetings in there if they want to. We love getting teachers and kids into our space. It energizes us and reminds us of why we do what we do.”
One other notable feature in Filament’s space is its new gong wall.
“We have a tradition that when we win a big deal we gong it in,” Wilson explains. “We had a very tiny gong before and now we’ve got a ginormous gong, which is very cool.”
Giving an old building a new face
One of the biggest challenges Hovde Properties has faced during the renovation was the replacement of the West Washington facade, according to Slavish.
“We had to figure out how to remove the large limestone panels and fully replace the entire glass curtain wall system, all while minimizing disruption to the tenant occupying floors two through five (floors six through 10 were vacant during construction). Staff that had perimeter offices were relocated so that temporary weatherproof walls could be built 10-feet to 15-feet inside the exterior wall system.
“Our construction team has done a great job of minimizing disruption to this tenant while working in some very tight spaces,” Slavish continues. “Given that this building was built in 1970, there was also some functional obsolescence and a number of environmental concerns, all of which were fully addressed and are being corrected through the renovation process.”
Once fully renovated, the project will provide updated lobbies and restrooms throughout the building, newly commissioned public art, shared conference rooms, a new fitness center and locker/shower facilities, secured bike storage with room for 50 bicycles, three full loading docks, and community outdoor spaces for tenants’ use.
Additionally, Slavish says the new elevators throughout the building are some of the fastest in Madison at 500 feet per minute and feature regenerative drives that significantly reduce electrical consumption.
Slavish adds the AT&T building renovation will impact the downtown Madison economy in a number of ways.
“It will bring a fresh new look to this 45-year-old building that has not been well maintained in recent years,” he explains, “add $15-plus million in new tax base, provide a cost-effective alternative to the current downtown office space offerings for young tech and startup companies, and bring a projected 500-plus new jobs to Madison’s downtown.”
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