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University will take over Brothers for new theater
BEN CLASSON/Herald photo
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Also by Carl Jaeger:
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One major hurdle still needs to be cleared before the University of Wisconsin can fully celebrate a new performance facility announced on Tuesday.
The complex containing Brothers Bar and Grill will need to be demolished to accommodate the performance center on its proposed location at the northwest corner of University Avenue and Lake Street.
UW System spokesperson David Giroux said plans to develop the area were “not a closely guarded secret,” as the university identified the block for development in 2005.
The UW System Board of Regents voted to take the first steps in obtaining the property at its June meeting, Giroux said, which authorized the regents with power of eminent domain.
With power of eminent domain, any government entity — including UW — can obtain property rights with financial compensation without the owner’s consent.
Giroux said the university will use power of eminent domain only as a last resort and hopes to obtain the land through negotiating a fair price for owners and taxpayers.
“Ultimately, we’d like the property owners to get a fair price for the property, students to get new academic space they need and want and that taxpayers won’t pay a premium price for the property just because that is where the university needs to expand,” he said.
Giroux added UW last used power of eminent domain to obtain land in the 1960s. The Board of Regents last issued power of eminent domain in 1990 to obtain the land where Grainger Hall is currently located, although an agreement was reached before it was needed.
Brothers Bar and Grill will be able to retain their liquor license if they decide to move into a new location, although an alcohol license transfer will have to be approved by the Alcohol License Review Committee, said Madison Alcohol Policy Coordinator Katherine Plominski.
There are no guarantees of an alcohol license approval, Plominski said, as a transfer depends on many factors including bar’s capacity, location and density among other bars in the area.
The Board of Regents also obtained power of eminent domain for a hair braiding business called Styles 4 Us, also located where the proposed performance center will be built.
Real life brothers Marc and Eric Fortney own the Brothers Bars and Grill chain, operating 12 locations across the Midwest. Neither brother was available for comment Wednesday and a representative from Madison’s Brothers Bar and Grill declined to comment.
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IP hash: 874b4b67
oh, brothers.
IP hash: b3117268
I’m disappointed in the University continued destruction of historical buildings. The buildings they want to destroy are over 100 years old, and buildings destroyed further down on University in the name of the new Union South were also old and historic landmarks in the city. The city deserves to keep some of its old character; my family has been in Madison for over 150 years and it is disappointing to realize that most of the city as they knew it is being continuously destroyed as time goes on.
IP hash: 9694325d
I’m not the biggest fan of Brother’s, but this will be a shame if they face a number of hurdles trying to find a new home and getting the liquor license transferred.
IP hash: 0c625e57
11:40am — To my knowledge the only buildings that is being knocked down to build union south is the Randall Towers building between Johnson St and Campus Dr. Are you possibly confusing that with the many buildings that were knocked down to make way for the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery building between Campus Drive and University Ave?
I do agree with you that it is sad that historic buildings are being knocked down to make more space for the university to expand. It’s kind of sad.
IP hash: 5a6eb164
@Jade Schmitt
Just because a building is old doesn’t make it historically important. Have you seen the back side of that row of buildings? It looks like it could have been used as a set for the movie Gangs of New York.
IP hash: 4c978fd9
oh,no…..a piece of me just died i think.
IP hash: 40f3db63
historical buildings?!?!? That p.o.s. block is the ugliest part of downtown. Brothers was alright and Im interested in seeing if/where they want to move, but thank u for finally tearing down the rest
IP hash: d56982c7
first Hatters, now Brothers? The university just doesn’t like FAC… Glad I graduated before they hated beer in Madison….
IP hash: 88e35757
Just because they look like junk now doesn’t mean that with some restoration they could look just as presentable as anything else. Those buildings are all historic parts of downtown Madison. One used to be a Kroger’s meat and grocery shop, and as a historian, you cannot dismiss the importance of day-to-day life. Just because you don’t care about history doesn’t mean you can’t be respectful of it.
IP hash: 1ba0df85
Eminent domain is the inherent power of the state to seize a citizen’s private property. It sickens me that such an action is allowed to be committed without our consent. Citizens who are by law required to financially support these tyrants have no say in it. No matter what political party fills the government office, we will always disagree with one of their decisions and have no way of fixing it.
Why stand on the street and bitch about it? What is that going to fix? How will it achieve anything other than taking your 12 hour day off from work and putting it towards an attempt to change something you have no say about?
Without control in this event, why do anything but stay positive? Lets just wait for one of the most popular bars in town to soon be in a new location, possibly a nicer building.
Life sucks. Just deal with it.