The Madison Planning Commission approved a proposal Monday night to build a 12-story apartment complex at the intersection of Gorham Street and University Avenue.
Supporters of the project announced several modifications to original plans, based on requirements from city officials and neighborhood residents. Representatives of Wayne Dishaw, the property’s owner, addressed the structure of the proposed building at 437 W. Gorham St., as well as concerns with traffic flow and parking.
The developers, with approval from officials, added two floors to the original 10-floor proposal. A considerable amount of debate, however, focused on the necessity of balconies in the complex. While committee members proposed varying air filtration and smoking policies within the apartments themselves, Dishaw stated that balconies would allow smoking without disturbing potential non-smoking roommates.
“In my experience, students aren’t going to take an elevator down 8 or 10 floors to go outside and smoke,” Dishaw said, calling balconies an ideal solution to the problem.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, addressed neighborhood concerns regarding parking and traffic flow, including traffic engineers’ assessment of a loading dock and a proposal to more than double the parking spots in the complex.
“I do not recall a single solitary criticism of the building,” Verveer said, referencing a March 26 neighborhood meeting regarding the project. “The key issue I heard was a lack of parking.”
Under a motion that will appear before the City Council at their April 8 meeting, the developers would be given permission to increase the available parking spots within the building from 25 to 52, as well as 140 spaces for bicycles.
In addition to calming concerns over parking, Verveer explained the economic benefits of the proposed building.
“New student housing has had a fairly dramatic impact on the market in the past few years. Rents are now stabilizing,” Verveer said. “I’m not foolish enough to call this affordable housing, but rents are not going up next year.”
Finally, the commission debated the regulation of a prominent apartment window overlooking the intersection of Gorham and Bassett Streets. While developers and residents expressed a desire to maintain aesthetic appeal for Gorham Street commuters, committee members questioned the ability of apartment administrators to restrict student decoration. While the Dishaw camp stated their rights as landlords to marginally hinder disruption of the window, they also stated the rights of their tenants.
“We will not interfere with students’ rights,” Dishaw said.
The motion to approve the new plans passed without dissent, relative to the recommendations of the traffic engineer. Developers said they hope to have the building open to student tenants by the August 2004 rental season.
