The development teams of three proposals for the redevelopment of a vacant downtown lot clarified aspects of their designs for Madison residents at a city committee meeting Tuesday.

The city received three mixed-use proposals from prominent developers after announcing their intentions to redevelop the city owned lot on the 800 block of East Washington Avenue late last year. The East Washington Avenue 800 Block North Committee formed to narrow the options for the redevelopment from three to one.

The proposals came from three local developers: C.D. Smith Construction, T. Wall Properties and Gebhardt Development. Each development team proposed a mixed-use project for the site and the all three designs included a grocery store, housing units and commercial space, according to Ald. Lauren Cnare, District 3.

“That’s what draws people in: all-in-one spot shopping and living,” Cnare said.

Terrence Wall, owner of T. Wall Properties, explained his proposed development included the possibility of a coffee shop and a caf?.

Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, expressed her concern about how the allocated commercial space in the development could affect the economy of the surrounding area. She asked Wall how the development team planned to minimize the impact on the surrounding business establishments.

Wall said it is not the intention of the proposed development to draw business away from other coffee shops and retail establishments in the area.

Kirk Keller, a member of the T. Wall Enterprises development team, added they want to respect the other developments and business in the area.

Mike Krolczyk, Bob Monnat and Paul Kuta from C.D. Smith Construction development team highlighted the appeal of their proposal for families.

The proposal provides the opportunity to have a place for people to live and be within walkable distance of all their necessary services, Monnat said. These options will engage families, he added.

Wall emphasized the green roof, street level gardening plot and community room inside the building outlined in T. Wall’s proposal, noting they could allow for programming that would appeal to children in the area.

Christopher Gosch, a member of the Gebhardt Development team, said the height and density of the proposed development was also conducive to families.

Cnare said the three proposals do not differ much from each other.

“This is going to be a tough decision,” Cnare said. “There are parts I like about all of them and I wish there was a way to put all three together.”

Cnare said the decision is going to come down to the projected costs of the proposals and how the neighborhood feels about the different designs.

She also said the work of the committee is the first step in the process of redeveloping the vacant lot.

The committee will meet at least two more times before drafting a resolution of the final proposal for the site to put before city council, Cnare explained. If the project is approved it will then make the appropriate rounds through the various city committees, she said.

The committee will continue public hearings and discussion of the proposal at their next meeting March 21.