The Badger Herald

NEWS

City asks for new condo proposal

SUNDEEP MALLADI/Herald photo

Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.

Also by Courtney Johnson:

Construction pops up on State Street this spring (November 6, 2007)
Woods ahead in fundraising race (March 28, 2007)
E-mail sparks privacy concern (October 9, 2007)
Big Ten Network reaches deal with UW housing (August 31, 2007)
City agency to run Halloween entertainment (May 10, 2007)

by Courtney Johnson

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Plans for new high-rise condominiums on West Johnson Street are heading back to the drawing board after a city committee denied their initial approval.

The Urban Design Committee unanimously decided to vote down the proposal for a new complex at 454 W. Johnson St., the former location of Casa Bianca restaurant.

The vote means the builders, Fleming Development, will be unable to present their proposal to the Madison Plan Commission Feb. 5. This is the second time the plans have been referred by the UDC, creating problems for the builders, who would like to stick to their timeline in order to begin selling the condos.

"Because this is a student-oriented project, they do have concerns about having the project available for occupancy for the school year," said Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4.

Concerns raised at the meeting largely stemmed from the size of the building. The building's footprint is larger than that of neighboring structures, including the Embassy and Aberdeen apartment buildings.

"Height and mass of the structure is our main concern," said Rosemary Lee, member of the State-Langdon Neighborhood Steering Committee, who spoke at the meeting. "It just does not appear to fit in the neighborhood, especially in relationship to the two- and three-story housing stock in the area."

Despite her recommendation for a referral, Lee said she is pleased with the external changes Fleming Development has made to the building.

The condominium proposal, which would house 197 units, also includes plans for retail space on the ground level of the building, making it different from other high-rises in the area.

"This is, again, one of the first buildings that we've seen in a while in this district that has major portions of the building at ground level for retail, which is going to bring a lot of activity, as opposed to retail which becomes an office for the developer or the on-site manager," said Todd Barnett, an architect and member of the UDC.

Barnett said he believes the proposed condos are on their way to approval and added Fleming will be allowed to add the two extra floors designers have requested. The building section that the site is located within limits all structures to 10 stories.

But Lee expressed concern that the building would end up being taller than the proposed 12 stories, due to the additional height needed for the first-floor retail space. She said the building will put surrounding structures in shadows, and she would like a study to be done to determine if the building would significantly block light.

"These [current] studies do not demonstrate the shadow patterns of the nearby Aberdeen and Embassy, so we still do not have a finite picture of how an additional tall building will affect the much shorter surrounding residential units," Lee said.

Community members also attended the meeting to voice their opposition to the proposed high-rise. Madison resident Randy Christianson said he is concerned about other studies he has seen indicating the new building would block sunlight from reaching his home.

"I live on Conklin Place, … and my building will not see sunlight, even in the summer, until between 9 and 10 in the morning," Christianson said.

Christianson is also concerned that adding expensive condominiums to the downtown area will promote economic segregation, which, he said, will inevitably lead to racial segregation.

Currently, Fleming would like to have construction completed by August 2008. Fleming will not have another opportunity to submit a proposal until the UDC meets again in two weeks.

Add a comment

We welcome your thoughts, but please keep your feedback thoughtful, on-topic and respectful. Offensive language, personal attacks, or irrelevant comments may be deleted.