NEWS
Hyatt receives final vote of approval, will be built
Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.
Also by Cara Harshman:
- Student asking for noise flexibility on Mifflin (April 24, 2008)
- Police find witness in murder case (April 22, 2008)
- Water utility pushes for $28 yearly bill increase (April 22, 2008)
- City officials investigate arson, suspect hate crime (April 22, 2008)
- Police: Lock up doors at Mifflin (April 18, 2008)
Related Stories:
- New hotel to be built on West Washington Avenue (October 3, 2007)
- Bassett group hears condo proposal (September 13, 2005)
- U-Square gets Urban Design Committee's OK (December 8, 2005)
- 'New York living' to grace campus (April 26, 2006)
- Building commission rejects 9-story proposal (October 20, 2005)
by Cara Harshman
Thursday, April 24, 2008
After almost a year of deliberation, a city commission approved construction Wednesday for a new Hyatt hotel to be built in downtown Madison.
The commission also gave the final nod to an apartment building in the Bassett neighborhood in the works since last October.
The apartment building at 451 W. Wilson St. still needs approval from the plan commission May 5 and City Council May 6 before construction.
In light of the lengthy process to approve the hotel, Lou Host-Jablonski, chair of the Urban Design Commission, asked the members of the commission “at what point can we approve it?”
Architect Jeff Kreihbel spoke to the commission, addressing their concerns with the hotel’s facade and assuring them he heeded its comments and changed the hotel’s front appearance.
Members of the commission voiced concern with small features on the building, including a structure at the top of the building Hyatt includes in all its hotels.
“I don’t think it has to get to the point of ‘great,’” Host-Jablonski said to the commission as it wavered on a decision.
The hotel ultimately passed with a caveat that windows on one side of the building be redesigned to match other windows.
With four Basset neighborhood residents staunchly opposed to the new four-story apartment building proposed where South Bassett Street dead ends at Lake Monona, the commission unanimously approved the four-story, 40-unit apartment building.
“We are on a very tight schedule,” said Lance McGrath, developer for the building. “We want to be built for the rental season.”
McGrath said the new plans presented Wednesday increased the brick on the outside of the building by 50 percent and simplified the busy facade.
Rosemary Lee, a 40-year veteran resident in the Bassett neighborhood, said she personally walked door to door in the area inquiring about the proposed Lake Park Apartments, concluding neighbors generally supported the project.
“We all know there is some housing in the neighborhood that’s not so good anymore,” Lee said. “I’m looking forward to meeting new neighbors.”
Jan Sweet opposed the apartments from the drawing board in November 2007. He brought a petition with 45 signatures from residents concerned the building would bring congestion to the area.
“I want this project to be drastically altered,” Sweet said, adding the 49 parking spots the building holds will go against the neighborhood’s wishes to decrease motor vehicle presence there.
Sweet adamantly called for commission members to acknowledge his comments, saying the urban style of the building did not fit in with the rest of the neighborhood.
“Why can’t you produce a building that looks like it fits in the neighborhood?” Sweet asked.
Others were opposed because the apartments will overshadow the historic Dowling building.
“I feel badly for the Dowling residents, but there are a lot of people who want to live in Madison, not just residents of Dowling,” said Catherine Hixon, a proponent of the apartments. “Things change, and that’s why people move to the suburbs.”
Anonymous (April 24, 2008 @ 11:04pm):
Please fact-check and correct this story. It erroneously confuses two projects -- a Hyatt hotel on West Washington with an apartment building on West Wilson. The projects are very different, the architects are different, the UDC's comments are wrongly attributed to the projects, etc., etc. Somebody was up too late at night writing this story....
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.
Login...
Not registered? Sign up now.
It's quick, free, and the email address you provide will not be sold or solicited.
