The University Square redevelopment project, which should be completed by fall 2009, is making its way through Madison committees.
The Joint Southeast Campus Area Committee approved the general development plan at a meeting Monday. According to Eric Lawson, president of Potter Lawson, the firm in charge of redevelopment, the project will include retail space, parking, a University of Wisconsin tower and 350 private apartment units. The project is part of a larger UW plan, he added.
"The redevelopment is a portion of the new East Campus Mall between Johnson Street and University Avenue," Lawson said.
Alan Fish, associate vice chancellor of Facilities Planning and Management, said the mall on Murray Street would divide the proposed multipurpose facility from Vilas Hall by 66 feet at its closest point along University Avenue.
"The 66 foot minimum creates a view shed down Murray Street Mall which will extend for several blocks," Fish said. "The mall is going to be an urban pedestrian corridor. So it will be surrounded by several tall buildings."
Lawson said the redevelopment project includes an 11-story UW tower and a 12-story private apartment complex. The UW tower would be architecturally distinguishable from the rest of the project, he added.
"The UW tower is an 11-story building," Lawson said. "The lower two floors will be used for retail space. The next two stories will be student activity centers. Then the next four stories will be the new home of University Health Services and the top three are for student services like Registrar."
According to Lawson, completion of the project is so far off that there is no way to accurately predict what kind of businesses would want to set up shop at the redeveloped square.
"What we're trying to do with our retail space is keep it as flexible as possible," Lawson said. "Businesses cannot make a commitment to a location four years prior to opening."
Susan Springman, president of Executive Management Incorporated, which owns the University Square property, said EMI has agreed with UW not to allow alcohol-driven businesses.
"We have made a covenant with the university not to have any bars on the property," Springman said. "We can have restaurants there, and they can have bars, but the majority of their business will have to come from food service."
Springman also addressed the future of current University Square businesses.
"Everybody will be out for good by June 1, 2006," Springman said. "However, we've let several of the businesses leave early when they've found a place to relocate to. We've already told them all that when they find a place, they can leave and not face rent payment through May '06."
Lawson said he was not sure whether a movie theater would rent space to fill the void left by the upcoming departure of the University Square Theater. Fish, however, said theater plans are in the works elsewhere on campus.
"As we are reprogramming Union South, we are planning to have a movie theater there," Fish said. "We recognize the difficulties a movie theater could have at University Square. We think a theater would be better served and utilized at Union South."
