A city commission voted to create a special committee to advise the redevelopment of one of Madison’s historic blocks, an area marked by Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture.
The Plan Commission approved the creation of an Ad Hoc committee for the redesign of Lamp House block, which sits a little more than one block away from the Capitol on North Butler street.
The block houses a landmark building on the national register of historic places, the Lamp House, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1903 for his friend Robert Lamp.
The committee will create a vision for redevelopment and look to make the historic house more visible to the public.
However, several residents raised concerns the potential redesign could inhibit new developments in the area.
Ald. Ledell Zellers, District 2, said there are two developments proposed for the block — one by Rouse Management and another by the Alexander Company. However, neither companies have filed formal applications with the city.
Carole Schaeffer, Executive Director of SmartGrowth Madison, a group that opposes the creation of the committee, said the new developments being proposed would not alter the Lamp House in any way and added the building’s status as a landmark protects it enough under law.
“These new developments are not going to do anything to harm the Lamp House,” Schaeffer said.
Zellers said under the current Downtown Plan developers for the Alexander Company proposal could go ahead with the project as it meets all zoning requirements. However, Zellers said she hopes the committee would act quickly enough to prevent this from happening.
She said the Downtown Plan overlooked the historic Lamp House block, adding its significance to the city and proximity to Monona Terrace should be carefully considered.
“This a really unique heritage block in our city,” Zellers said. “We need to at least be careful about what we do on this downtown block.”
Ald. Mark Clear, District 19, agreed the design and preservation of the historic block was not properly addressed in the current downtown plan, but expressed concerns the committee would not address the issue of the new developments quickly enough despite their six-month deadline.
Clear also said he had concerns about the make up of the committee, noting there are no Lamp Block property owners serving on the committee.
Zellers said she wanted a broad membership on the Ad Hoc committee, including people who had extensive knowledge of Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy. She said it would exclude property owners and plan commission members because of potential conflicts of interest.
The project will stand out as being one of the first times the city focuses its attention on a specific block of the city, she said.
“This would be a precedent for doing a single block of the city,” Zellers said.
