Asbestos Abatement Leads to Rising Renovation Costs

The historic Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison, Wisconsin is in need of asbestos abatement and major renovations. State officials knew the project would be a multi-million dollar investment. Initial estimates placed the cost in the neighborhood of $3.4 million, but now state contractors believe that the project could cost almost twice that amount. The most recent estimates say the renovations will cost $6.5 million.

However, the new figures estimated by the state contractors were made without talking to the future tenants or developer Gary Gorman. Gorman first arrived at the $3.4 million price tag last summer. Gorman proposed using about $3.4 million in affordable housing and historic preservation tax credits and traditional financing to renovate the former hospital.

In January of 2008, state officials approved the demolition of the building. In October of the same year, Gorman submitted his proposal. In April of this year, officials postponed the demolition to further study the issue. The independent contractors hired by the state worked through May and June to create a new proposal, ultimately offering the $6.5 million figure.

Once known as the Wisconsin Memorial Hospital, the aging building was built in 1922 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The state was prepared to spend $541,000 this spring to tear down the building.

The building posed various risks. It was a fire hazard after being abandoned for 15 years, and contains toxic asbestos, known to cause lung cancer and mesothelioma in some cases. “The state hasn’t made a decision to demolish or to rebuild,” one official said Thursday. “We had our doubts (about Gorman’s proposal). This independent analysis seems to back up some of those doubts.”

Officials are critical of Gorman’s proposal, which seems to be missing some key components. For example, the new $6.5 million estimate includes a budget of $300,000 for removing asbestos. Gorman’s proposal has no cost allowance for asbestos abatement.

Mesothelioma - often referred to as asbestos cancer - is diagnosed in less than 3,000 individuals annually, and because it has no cure, is always fatal. Currently, mesothelioma treatment methods, such as chemotherapy and resectable surgery, are only temporary means of controlling the disease and associated side effects. One of the more popular chemo drugs, Alimta, is often administered to those suffering from asbestos cancer.

While doctors have made advancements in treatments and have a better understanding of asbestos disease within the last decade, oncologists like Anne Tsao MD of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas continue to research mesothelioma cancer and hope that a cure is not far off.