[media-credit name=’LISA SAFRANSKY/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]A proposal to redevelop a block of East Washington Avenue with a retail and condominium project seeks new life, as city committees are in the process of reviewing new plans by the developer.

The plan, created by the Gorman Company, proposes to renovate the entire 800 block of East Washington Avenue with 176 units for condominiums, lofts for personal businesses and retail establishments.

"It's a unique opportunity to have a whole city block in Madison's near east side," Chris Laurent, senior development manager for the Gorman Company, said. "It will be very pedestrian scale, consistent with the neighborhood itself."

Any construction will redevelop the area currently owned by a car dealership that will be leaving its establishment at the 800 block to split its businesses.

Laurent said the project, which would cost approximately $59 million, has been in the works for about two years.

The Gorman Company spent the time reworking its proposal to fit the needs of the Tenny-Lapham Neighborhood Association before bringing the plan to the city committees.

"We had a really strong relationship with the neighborhood association," Laurent added. "They're so important to the project, so we went and got their feedback."

Members of the Tenny-Lapham Neighborhood Association did not return calls as of press time.

The result of compromising with the association was a fully redeveloped plan.

The original plan, according to Laurent, proposed a 390-unit development with a 10-story tower.

But available finances and concerns from the neighborhood association pushed the development company to redesign the project, which scaled down the size of the building to six floors, Laurent said.

Right now, the proposal is trying to gain city approval for its Tax Increment Financing request, which was resubmitted to the city last Monday.

If approved, the TIF will allow some of the money from the increase in property taxes to go toward the development of the project.

"They're seeking about $4 million in public funds," said George Twigg, communications director for Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, the latter of whom will review the request as a member of the city's Board of Estimates. "[We] haven't had a chance to review the project, but we are glad they came back to the table."

Laurent said tight constraints in the city's budget have put further action with the proposal on hold.

"Unfortunately, there's only so much money that's in the budget right now. The city of Madison hasn't prioritized its use of dollars," he added. "We just got caught in the middle, so we're in the process of actively finding some solutions."

Though Twigg acknowledged the proposal has evolved and changed in "a lot of ways," he noted approving TIF requests must be taken on a case-to-case basis.

"Every project is unique. … Projects have to be judged on their individual merits," he said. "We have to do this independent analysis and look at the project as a whole."

According to Laurent, the Gorman Company will still continue to work with the city to achieve the best financial aid for a project that will take an estimated five years to build.

Twigg reiterated Laurent's statements, saying the city is trying to find the best possible solution before approving construction of the project.

"It will be a very positive development [if constructed]," Twigg said. "It just has to be in a way that is financially responsible."