November 25, 2012
For Immediate Release
Contact: Joan Jones 920-563-2976


Rock River Heritage Inc. has chosen Dimension IV as the architect for the restoration and renovation of The Fort Atkinson Club, formerly the Masonic building, downtown Fort Atkinson.

Ron Siggelkow, Project Architect and Historic Specialist said, “We are delighted to join this historical and civic project. Our expertise aligns with the goal to put this building back into service for Fort Atkinson.”

The Dimension IV Madison Design Group team brings experience from projects including Madison College, Fort Atkinson Regional Campus, Whitewater Historic Railway Depot, Beaver Dam Lake Lodge, Roundhouse Building, Madison, Hotel Julien Dubuque, Historic Ground Building & Hose Tower, Greendale, and the Brickhouse BBQ in Madison. Many of these include historical restoration and renovation.

“We were very lucky to have a number of talented companies to choose from. It was a difficult decision.” said Joan Jones, Rock River Heritage Inc board chair. “We chose Dimension IV because of their experience with similar historical and rehabilitation projects and the inclusion of local professionals as a part of their team.” Fort Atkinson residents Jill Kessenich, Bungalow Pros Design, Interior Designer and Conor Nelan, Cold Spring Design, Structural Engineer and Construction Administrator are part of the Dimension IV Group for this project.

The decision was made after a 6 month process of creating preliminary reports that will help inform the next phase of the architectural design. A formal Exterior and Interior study were completed in September. Funded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and local private donors, the conceptual designs and assessments were completed by Preservation Architect, Charlie Quagliana.

Rock River Heritage board member Rachel Nelan noted, “The Fort Atkinson Club will partner with business and non-profit organizations to provide a valuable community resource and asset.

The building has a unique set of spaces and a beautiful location that will differentiate services and resources,” she added. “We hope the programs will leverage community partnerships and opportunities that are currently under-served while growing downtown Fort Atkinson.”

“There are so many community programming possibilities including the market,” noted Cynthia Holt, Farmers Market Manager and Rock River Heritage board member. “The proximity of the Fort Atkinson Club to the market has opportunities we have not even thought of yet. We look forward to exploring the possibilities of this historic building along the Rock River,” Holt added.

As the architectural planning gets underway, the board continues to meet with interested community partners and formalize ideas that were culled from a community gathering last fall.

Joan Jones noted, “We have excellent advisors and information resources available to us for this project. The project schedule is aggressive and fundraising efforts will begin shortly. As soon as additional details are in place we hope Fort Atkinson will be as excited as we are about this downtown resource.”

For more information or to find out how you can get involved, please contact Joan Jones, 920-563-2976