The city of Madison looks to the future of development with plans to spend more than $1 million to demolish several buildings on the 800 block of East Washington Avenue.

The cleanup will take place in August, after which private developer Urban Land Interests plans to continue work on a proposed mixed-use project on the north side of East Washington Avenue.

According to a ULI statement, the company was pleased to announce the agreement after a year long approval process of its purchase from the city.

“The city’s goal is to sufficiently remediate the site to allow for its redevelopment into a mixed employment/residential/retail space consistent with the city’s 2008 East Washington Avenue Capitol Gateway Corridor Plan,” city engineer Robert Phillips said in a letter to members of Madison’s Plan Commission.

In an email to The Badger Herald, Brynn Bemis, one of the city’s project managers, said the Plan Commission found  the standards met and approved the demolition permit applications for the 800 block of East Washington.

Bemis said the city has received $1.2 million for the cleanup, with $800,000 specific to the Don Miller block and a $400,000 site assessment grant to be used for investigating the city for potential environmental contamination.

According to Bemis, the cleanup includes demolishing all of the buildings and structures, excavating petroleum-contaminated soil and excavating soil contaminated with metals and coal ash. She added the level of contamination is neither spreading nor a threat to the environment but must be addressed because the city wants to redevelop the property.

Tim Parks, a city planning staff member, said in an email The Badger Herald there are currently no specific redevelopment plans for these sites, which have been owned by the city since last summer.

Park said the properties were purchased using a land banking fund and the city anticipates private redevelopment proposals coming forward for the properties over the next 6-18 months.

“We are currently negotiating with a local development company for the property on the north side of East Washington Avenue,” Parks said.

According to the ULI statement, its development concept is being shaped by the values outlined in the East Washington Avenue Build Plan, including the shared goal of attracting and retaining employment-based uses that can provide family-supporting wages.