Mayor discourages ambition

by Casey Hoff

Monday, March 28, 2005 00:00

I’ve always been told that being ambitious, having drive and thinking big are virtues to be proud of, celebrated and encouraged in another human being’s attempt to make a living and, at the same time, improve society. However, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz has once again proved that his goal is not to reward ambition, but to discourage it. Our Mayor recently spouted that real estate developer Curt Brink’s proposed project, called “Archipelago Village” on East Washington Avenue, “strikes me as too ambitious for one site.”

There is no doubt that Curt Brink is an ambitious man with an ambitious mission. He’s set on a project that has the potential to greatly improve the quality of life for Madisonians by creating thousands of new jobs, expanding our tax base, reigniting a once-bustling downtown and attracting more tourists and entertainment options to a healthy, growing city like Madison.

The project, to be built on the old Mautz Paint site on East Wash, would total 1.4 million square feet and include 600,000 square feet of office space, 400,000 square feet of retail, 3,200 parking spaces, condominiums, a grocery store and a health club. It would also be built according to “green” standards, meaning better energy conservation, the recycling of materials from any demolition involved, and higher standards for “natural lighting.” In addition, Brink has designed Archipelago Village to cater toward all forms of transportation, including bicycles and streetcars, through a two-story transportation hub.

Again, Mayor Dave says, “it strikes me as too ambitious for one site.” Of course, the mayor is not the only one who likes to discourage ambition. Mike Ivey of the Capitol Times, in a March 25th article entitled “East Wash Skyscraper is One Sure Talker,” stated “Archipelago Village … is the most ambitious vision yet for a small Midwestern city still not sure what it wants to be.”

So not only does Mr. Ivey discourage ambition, but apparently we also need to wait until Madison emerges from its pre-pubescent state and finds out what it truly is. Ivey goes on to sound almost frightened by the possibility of a new corporation coming to Madison, saying, “Unfortunately, Archipelago Village seems to hinge on finding a major corporate tenant willing to site its headquarters in the downtown.” Well, Mr. Ivey, we sure wouldn’t want a corporation downtown that would bring more jobs to a city that has lost thousands and give unemployed families a chance to put food on the table.

Mayor Dave has further criticized the project saying, “We’re not a sleepy 50,000 population college town anymore. We’re not New York City either.” It seems that Mayor Dave and Mike Ivey agree. I guess Madison should consult a clinically certified psychiatrist and get a personality profile done to see how far beyond the sleepy college town stage it is and when it will be OK to move into a stage that encourages growth and ambition.

I’m sure that this article will generate the normal responses from the tiny portion of goose-stepping, Mayor Dave-loving, anti-business, anti-corporation, anti-automobile, anti-ambitious people, citing that all corporations are like Enron and Halliburton, all real estate developers are inhumane, evil people who have no heart, and that anything big must be bad. That type of stereotypical, knee-jerk reaction is not only unfortunate, but also ignorant, idiotic and shallow.

Others will cite the “need to protect” the view of the Capitol, saying we shouldn’t have a building taller than it because they see it as vital that every Madisonian have a direct line of sight toward the Capitol from any place in the city. I mean, if someone has a pain-staking desire to see our beautiful capitol building, they could drive, bike or walk to it and stare for as long as their heart desires. But we wouldn’t want to be logical when dealing with Mayor Doolittle’s blind followers … they prefer not to think that way.

The bottom line is that opponents of Archipelago Village will say that the project is too big, too ambitious, too lofty and too progressive for the city of Madison. Of course, none of these arguments have any merit whatsoever. They are the typical responses from a small group of people who discourage ambition and continue to live in an altered reality.

I recently had a chance to sit down and talk with Curt Brink on my radio show. He’s a very cordial, decent, intelligent and thoughtful person who should be commended for being ambitious in this project. After all, his plans for the City of Madison would do far more to improve it than a bike lane around the capitol, a train whistle ban or a bigger polar bear cage at the zoo, all of which Mayor Dave has formed his agenda around. But of course, I can’t blame our mayor. His words speak for himself. When you discourage ambition, you encourage insignificant goals and the status quo.

Casey Hoff (choff@badgerherald.com) is a UW student and the host of “New Ground with Casey Hoff,” live Monday through Friday, 9-11 a.m., on Talk Radio 1670 WTDY.