The recently released proposal to change the layout of the east side of the University of Wisconsin campus could displace businesses in the area into less prime locations and make for hectic daily operations for others.
The plan to overhaul the campus’s east end includes the demolition of University Square so that a new multifaceted complex could be constructed in its place. Retailers who currently reside in University Square are not going to be compensated for their loss of space. Instead, the property’s owner Executive Management has offered to try and help businesses find new retail space.
“We need to find a place that is close by, since at least 75 percent of our business comes from students,” said Deb Henry, owner of Baker’s Too. “We’re hoping to go across the street, and we have expressed interest in coming back when the building is finished, but there is no guarantee since our leases will be up. We also have to think about how much the new rent will be.”
The project will also affect the delivery of mail since much of downtown Madison’s mail passes through University Square’s branch of the U.S. Post Office. While the office is planning on returning to University Square after construction of a new complex is complete, it has yet to find a space in which will be able to house facilities for the approximate 18 months it will be out of a home.
“It’s going to be a real problem for Madison mail,” a postal worker said. “We haven’t found a suitable place, and it’s going to be a real hardship for business owners and students who use us as their primary post office.”
Construction of the new complex is tentatively set to begin in late 2005.
The general plan calls for 520 underground parking stalls, two levels of retail space and approximately 700 beds of student housing. There are also plans to move student financial services — such as the bursar, register and the financial-aid office — as well as a student-health center and a student-activities center, into the new building.
“This is one of the earlier parts of the development project, but we’re still really excited about it,” said UW spokesman Dennis Champman. “Student organizations have been asking for something like this for quite some time. It should be extremely convenient for everyone involved.”
In order to keep construction on schedule, UW would have to allot for the funding in the 2005-’07 budget. Currently, the estimates indicate the development would cost $150.2 million, with $75.2 million from housing, health, student-activities and parking revenue, $33.5 million from the state and $41.2 million from the developer for the retail portion of the project.
Also included in the project are plans to unify the arts and humanities programs by tearing down the Humanities building and re-housing the school of music and art.
There are also plans to renovate and expand the Elvehjem Museum of Art, providing music-performance space and consolidating the art services which are spread all over campus.
“This plan lays out a vision that will invigorate the east-campus area and provides a spark that will make it a vibrant center for performing, creating, learning and living on campus,” Chancellor John Wiley said in a press release regarding the plan, which plots a course for UW during the next 15 years.
