S&L Companies Hangar
Project Scope: New airplane hangar
Location: Baraboo, Wisconsin
Designer: Mente Engineering
Some construction projects are just fun to do. Sometimes, it is because the clients are excited about what they want to build and are fun to work with. The S&L Hangar project in Baraboo, Wisconsin was just such a project.
Shortly after we completed a new airplane hangar for Wilderness Resort at the end of 2018, we received a call from Jeff Liegel, one of the owners of S&L Companies. Jeff asked if we could build a new aircraft hangar on the adjacent lot. We were excited to hear from S&L, as we had built a new Culver’s Restaurant for them in Reedsburg, Wisconsin a few years prior and we really enjoyed working with both Jeff and his partner Chad Stevenson. Both Jeff and Chad had worked at Culver’s original Reedsburg location and have since become one of the largest Culver’s franchises, with 40 stores in four states. Because of their rapid growth, most notably in Florida, they were now in the market for a private jet and had become quite familiar with the facilities at the Baraboo Dells Airport, located just 20 miles from their corporate office in Portage, Wisconsin.
Due to lot sizes and setbacks, the Wilderness hangar was limited to an 80’ x 80’ building and included a new well and septic system. Since Jeff and Chad required a larger hangar, we connected them with the Wilderness project team to ultimately work out a joint-use agreement for both the water and sewer system that was installed on the Wilderness site. These connections allowed the new, Metallic pre-engineered metal hangar to grow to 95’ x 100’ and still fit on the standard 120’ x 120’ lot. This added load also made the Wilderness water and septic system operate more efficiently.
One of the key features they knew they wanted was both an in-floor radiant heating system for the building and for the external slab that would connect the building to the taxiway. This snowmelt system was especially of interest to S&L since they had witnessed the icing that had repeatedly occurred during the winter of 2018-2019 at the airport and hoped this system would allow them better and more full-time access and availability to the runway. They also chose a clean-looking white epoxy finish for the floor and added trench drains within the building. They ultimately chose a 75-foot wide Norco sectional hangar door that all stacks up on one side of the hangar opening.
We were surprised by a freak snowstorm that dumped six inches of snow on the construction site. The other major challenge this snow caused was the near-immediate closing of asphalt plants in the area. Where the normal season typically extends into mid-to-late November, the sudden onset of snow and cold weather caused many asphalt plants to shut down. As a result, while the concrete pad and asphalt connection from the building to the taxiway was completed before the plants shut down, the driveway side that connects the building to the street couldn’t be completed until the plants opened up in the spring.
Once the building was complete, one of the finishing touches was the installation of the 20’ Big Ass Fan, which will assist not only in ventilation but also in the evaporation of moisture on the hangar floor. With the building complete, all that was left was for the new jet to arrive. The new white Hawker 900 jet, which carried two crew and eight passengers, complete with the S&L logo on the blue tail section, fit like a glove in its new home. In the months following the building completion, Jeff and Chad upgraded the jet to a Legacy 500 that can carry more passengers and has a significantly longer trip range.
This project was recognized by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Wisconsin as a 2020 Silver Project of Distinction.