Wauwatosa Health Department relocates for renovation

The Wauwatosa Health Department has moved to the first-floor Civic Center Auditorium space in city hall, where it will stay until about mid-April while its usual first-floor space is renovated, Nursing Director Lori Nielsen said.

The $278,000 project will include reconfiguration of the existing space, including the installation of new walls and finishes and the updating of the lighting and electrical systems. It will also improve the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, making it more efficient.

The project includes duct work and lowering the ceiling and will reduce heating and air conditioning costs. It will "open up the space," Nielsen said, creating better traffic flow and improving storage areas.

"It will be more efficient for us," she said.

Patient consultation, which before the remodel sometimes took place near the entry, will be moved inside to a more private area, she said.

The 4,400-square-foot space includes clinic rooms, which will remain after the remodel.

The health department renovation is part of a larger updating of various parts of city hall, said City Administrator Jim Archambo.

"We did a master plan for the building back in about 2010 and … basically it laid out how to refurbish the building, both for use purposes and also for energy conservation purposes," he said. "Based on that plan, we already did the area back by the building inspection (department) and back through engineering … that was the first segment that we did, maybe two years ago."

The health department project is next in line, Archambo said.

Wauwatosa-based Selzer-Ornst Co. is the contractor.