NEWS
Apartment boom moves to Spring Street
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Also by Melanie Truhn:
- Chancellor speaks at neighborhood meeting (November 21, 2003)
- State confusion over burial grounds (October 15, 2003)
- Willy Street Co-op turns 30 (October 17, 2003)
- Coffee Store Added to Downtown Area (October 22, 2003)
- Fall festival to bring back detoured customers (October 23, 2003)
Related Stories:
- Plans aired for Mifflin complex (October 15, 2004)
- New apartment comes to Lake Lawn (October 18, 2001)
- Some upset about Lakelawn apartment construction (October 17, 2001)
- Apartment building to replace campus Burger King (February 7, 2003)
- Developer presents Mifflin Street apartment building (March 3, 2005)
by Melanie Truhn
Wednesday, October 30, 2002
An apartment being constructed is set to dwarf the homes of students living in its shadow.
Spring Street is facing new construction, only this time it is not on the sidewalk. In the middle of a community full of students and the old houses they live in, a high-rise apartment complex is being built.
The apartment’s construction is part of a growing trend in Madison to raze areas of houses and replace them with high-rise multi-bedroom apartments.
The complex on the corner of Randall and Spring will have 57 apartments that will be marketed for student housing. They are being built by Stevens Construction Corporation and will be managed by Colonial Management.
The construction started about three weeks ago and has left some Spring Street residents unhappy.
“It is ridiculous; I should not be woken up at 7 a.m. every morning,” said University of Wisconsin student Kevin Krause, who lives next door to the construction.
The apartments are taking up a large space on the block; three houses were torn down to make room for them. Krause said he doesn’t know much about the apartments, but he has heard they are supposed to be efficiencies that will cost about $700 a month to rent.
Jerry Henrich, an employee from Stevens Construction Corporation, said the apartments will be called Park Terrace West and are slated to be done by Aug. 1, 2003. Henrich also said they will most likely be starting work at 7 a.m. every morning, unless it is too dark.
“The city ordinance says work can start at 7 a.m., and we haven’t received any complaints about noise yet,” he said.
Ald. Tim Bruer, District 14, is hopeful the construction of apartments in student areas can help students find reasonably priced apartments in downtown areas.
Bruer is concerned the construction of so-called “luxury” apartment high-rises and condominium development downtown are helping to further fortify the area closest to State Street as one reserved chiefly for wealthy professionals and students from wealthier families.
As a result, Bruer said, students will continue to retreat from the State Street and Capitol areas and move closer to Regent and Park Streets, the “outer ring” of the campus area where students will find more reasonable prices.
“The continued construction of upper-end apartments downtown could have a tremendous adverse impact on struggling students,” Bruer said.
