A controversial proposal to redevelop and restructure the 100 block of State Street received partial approval at the Landmarks Commission meeting Monday.
The proposal calls for action against two buildings that are designated as historical landmarks in Madison – the Castle and Doyle building at 125 State Street, and the Andrew Schubert Building at 120 W. Mifflin.
The Castle and Doyle building would be heavily renovated, with the interior space being drastically re-drawn and the exterior being repaired to better match its original appearance. In the case of the Schubert Building, the 100 Block Foundation, the organization behind the proposal, has deemed it fit for total demolition.
George Austin, the project manager for the 100 Block Foundation, said his organization believes the project represents a civic improvement for both the State Street area and the city of Madison as a whole.
“This project is an inflection point to build on our past, while adding to our future,” Austin said.
He also said the updated buildings would help anchor Madison’s central business district while providing support for the arts, especially in the form of increased attention on the Overture Center.
While the main purpose of the project is reinvesting in the “vitality” of the street by way of increasing building efficiency, Austin said preservation of the architectural scale of the area would also be a main objective of the project.
Eric Lawson, CEO of Potter Lawson Inc., an architecture company, supported many of Austin’s claims. He showed multiple renderings of the project plans, presented various slides showing the deterioration of the Schubert Building and supplied numbers that showed a marked futility in renovating the structure.
Jason Tish, executive director of the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation, shared an opposing view to that of the developers.
“Our opposition is founded on the idea that State [Street] is our downtown link to history,” Tish said. “It’s not a perfect district; no commercial, historic district is, and the 100 block exhibits that character better than any other. … This proposal would take a severe gouge out of that character.”
Tish said renovating the Schubert building would cost a fraction of the cost of the demolition and removal of the structure, let alone the cost of building an entirely new one.
He also spoke to the benefits of increasing the efficiency of the buildings through use of greener energy practices, speaking to the extended future such changes could give the buildings.
“State Street is our Main Street; it’s State Street, it’s Madison, and it’ll always be that way. We’re not trying to destroy that, we’re trying to add to that,” Austin said.
The meeting adjourned at 1 a.m. Tuesday. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the committee largely approved the proposal for State Street, which includes preserving the landmark Castle and Doyle building.
Additionally, Verveer said the committee voted to refer their decision on the more controversial aspects of the plan, such as the ones for the demolition of the Fairchild, or Stark, building, and the landmark Schubert building on W. Mifflin, to their next meeting on Feb. 13.
Verveer said the plans for any landmarks buildings must have Landmarks Commission approval. If the commission does not grant permission, the developers will have to go to the City Council and ask to overturn the decision.
Adri Viswanatha contributed to this report.
