Facility Information & Costs
General information on the Greenhouse Facility:
The CALS greenhouses are frequently used by the following departments: Horticulture, Botany, Plant Pathology, Forestry, Soil Science, Genetics, Agronomy, Biochemistry, Landscape Architecture, Entomology and Zoology. The Walnut Street facility supports more than 70 scientists, who train more than 150 postdoctorates/graduate students. It also serves numerous undergraduate students, who have jobs and/or independent projects with many of these labs. The greenhouses, especially D.C. Smith and King Hall, also allow for hands-on instruction in many plant-related courses.
Information on the WSGH Construction and Cost:
The older section of the greenhouse (39 houses) was built in in the early 1960s.
Phase I construction: The newer section of the greenhouse (32 houses) was built in 2005. It replaced a wooden structure greenhouse that was built in the early 1950's. Each module (set of 8 greenhouses) cost ~$1 million in 2004. The total project cost was ~6.8 million dollars.
The Phase II construction, which will hopefully take place in the 2011-2013 biennium, will replace the old section of greenhouses with 40 new houses, similar to those built in 2005. This project has a projected budget of ~$11.0 million, which will be fully funded by the State.
The plant sciences at UW-Madison generate more than $12 million in total extramural funds annually.
Information on Space Rental Costs:
Space charges are based on a per square foot of bench space, per month rate. Rates vary for the older and newer sections of the greenhouse (based on variances in the energy costs to run them.)
Old Section = 0.40$/sq. ft. per month
New Section = 0.65$/sq. ft. per month
This means that a small (85 sq. ft.) greenhouse in the old section will cost about $35/mo; a larger old section house (250 sq. ft.) will run ~$100/mo. Small (120 sq. ft.) new section houses are 78$/mo.; large (240 sq. ft.) old section houses are 156$/mo. These rates are only average estimates - houses do vary in the sq. ft. of bench space they contain. Since air conditioning energy costs are expensive, houses in the old section with active AC will be charged a higher rate. An average 85 sq. ft. greenhouse with AC will cost $65/mo.
Coldframes cost 5.00$/mo. per coldframe.
*Space rental rates as of February, 2012. Rates will be slightly less before that point. You can reference the chart below to estimate current costs. All costs are in dollars per month. Rates are increasing by 30%, at a rate of 10% per year, instituted each February.*
| With Air Conditioning | Without Air Conditioning | |||||||||
| Year | Old ~50 ft. | Old ~85 ft. | Old ~ 100 ft. | Old ~ 250 ft. | New 120 ft. | New 240 ft. | Old ~50 ft. | Old ~85 ft. | Old ~ 100 ft. | Old ~ 250 ft. |
| Feb. 2009 | 40$ | 50$ | 60$ | 120$ | 60$ | 120$ | 15$ | 25.5$ | 30$ | 75$ |
| Feb. 2010 | 44$ | 55$ | 66$ | 132$ | 66$ | 132$ | 16.5$ | 28.05$ | 33$ | 82.5$ |
| Feb. 2011 | 48$ | 60$ | 72$ | 144$ | 72$ | 144$ | 18$ | 30.6$ | 36$ | 90$ |
| Feb. 1012 | 52$ | 65$ | 78$ | 156$ | 78$ | 156$ | 19.5$ | 33.15$ | 39$ | 97.5$ |