The Wisconsin State Building Commission has approved a major renovation of three residence halls at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, clearing the way for the project to move toward contractor bidding. The work targets the Kronshage, Humphrey and Jorns residence halls, carrying an estimated cost of $79.2 million.
The renovation plan calls for a series of upgrades to the three halls, including:
- New windows, air conditioning and individual temperature controls in resident rooms.
- Replaced carpeting and light fixtures.
- Renovated lounge spaces.
- Bathroom updates.
- Exterior work and accessibility improvements.
- Fire safety upgrades.
Additional, broader renovations include installation of elevators in each building, new laundry rooms, kitchenettes, outdoor patios, replaced roofing and updated fire suppression systems. Overall design is intended to preserve the original historical character of each building.
The Kronshage residence comprises eight smaller buildings and houses more than 620 residents in the campus Lakeshore neighborhood. Humphrey and Jorns share a similar design and add 160 residents between them; both will be absorbed into Kronshage as two more houses.
Across campus, residence halls sat at 116% capacity this school year, well above a system designed to handle about 7,750 students. The university has absorbed that demand by converting larger double rooms into triples and turning study areas into resident rooms. It also limited its incoming class and total enrollment this year partly due to the housing shortage.
These renovations are just one piece of about $248 million in projects the commission cleared at its May meeting. That slate also includes $50 million for 71 local community development projects, funded through the state’s Non-State Grant Program.
The renovation is scheduled to run from August 2026 through August 2029. In the first phase, covering the 2026-27 academic year, Conover House and Showerman House will go offline and house no residents while renovations take place. Some shared spaces will be relocated during this phase, with additional houses rotating to the same offline status as work continues.
Photo by Richard Hurd from Green Bay, USA, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
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