NEWS
Commission plans Madison construction
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by Darryl Schnell
Tuesday, May 3, 2005
The City of Madison Plan Commission focused their attention on downtown construction, destruction and potential expansion Monday night.
The commission moved to recommend approval of construction of the second phase of Metropolitan Place on 333 W. Mifflin St., referred a motion to demolish a building on 551 W. Main St. in the Bassett Neighborhood and discussed the potential of expanding Broom Street with Traffic Engineering Staff.
Common Council will pass a final decision on construction of the second phase of Metropolitan Place Tuesday, May 3. According to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, residents of Metropolitan Place and project managers have reached an understanding on the project.
“In the last two weeks, this has turned into a love-fest,” Verveer said, adding he was pleased that community members and project developers were able to reach a unanimous agreement since the Common Council delayed the potential construction to the Plan Commission for review two weeks prior.
The second phase of Metropolitan Place will include 164 condo units, 320 parking spaces and 16,000 square feet of commercial space. Verveer said the use of the commercial space, though still undecided, is a concern for some members of the community.
“The only concern for members of the Mifflin community is the commercial space may be used for a new grocery,” Verveer said. “The approval of this construction neither encourages nor prevents a grocery.”
Verveer added he would like to see Capitol Centre Foods move across the street and expand their selection to accommodate a wider variety of people living downtown.
A motion to demolish a building on 551 W. Main St. and replace it with a four-story office building was deferred due to a lack of information presented to the commission about the potential destruction.
According to James Boll, a commission member, the Plan Commission has a responsibility to maintain old buildings.
“Our standard is to approve the preservation of buildings that are structurally sound,” Boll said. The commission should be sure of the structure before approving demolition, he added.
The West Main Street building was built in 1917.
“When we have buildings of this age and character … we had better be sure it is not economically feasible to rehabilitate it,” Ald. Brenda Konkel, District 2 said.
Commission member Albert Lanier said he was for the demolition of the building.
“The Urban Design Commission said it was appropriate to replace this building,” Lanier said. “We will tear down a decent building and put up something better.”
The commission will reevaluate this motion after city staff presents them with a thorough report of the structure of the existing building and whether or not it would be economically viable to rehabilitate it.
Dan McCormick, assistant traffic engineer, presented the commission with potential plans for an expansion of Broom Street. Broom Street plans are in early stages for the Traffic Engineering Department.
According to McCormick, the most likely expansion would make the street 15 feet wider, and allow for two bike lanes and an extra lane or a wider sidewalk.
“We’d like to maintain a certain amount of space so we can decide how to use it in the future,” McCormick said.
