After more than five years of deliberation, debate and progress, Madison’s City Council voted Wednesday to accept the proposed Judge Doyle Square project.
The deal passed in a vote of 12-6 just after 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, moving the development on to its final stages before construction begins.
The proposal is a $200 million redevelopment project, with the city paying $46.7 million of that cost.
Taking more than 8 hours, the meeting began with a presentation from the negotiating team, followed by public comment, then finished with further council discussion, including commentary from Mayor Paul Soglin.
The current proposal calls for headquarters for biotech company Exact Sciences, expanded parking areas and a hotel to accommodate guests of the Monona Terrace Convention Center.
Guarantees surrounding the hotel portion of the development continued to be a topic of contestation.
In the agreement, construction of the hotel isn’t guaranteed until the parking garage is completed. The construction for the hotel is scheduled to begun in May of 2017, but with no investors currently backing the hotel, critics worried it would never be built. Both Soglin and Robert Dunn, the JDS Development managing partner, however, remained confident the hotel would be successfully built, as promised.
Public speakers ranged from supporters of the project to staunch objectors. Critics suggested spending the money on affordable housing, refocusing the discussion away from biotech company Exact Sciences and saving the land for a more valuable development in the future.
Concerns were also brought up about the longevity of Exact Sciences as a company. Supporters spoke of the merits of Exact Sciences and the jobs the development would bring to downtown Madison.
Exact Sciences Laboratory gaining success and recognition in Madison
During his comments, Soglin spoke of the importance of continuing to create jobs downtown. Bringing Exact Sciences, a growing company with a dedication to improving racial disparities downtown is a crucial opportunity, he said.
“This is what we have been struggling for, and now its here,” Soglin said. “I don’t see how we can do anything less than approve this enthusiastically and look forward with excitement to the days when these buildings open and we get a new work force.”
Years in the making, nearing completion, Judge Doyle Square project set back two weeks
Exact Sciences, developer of Cologuard, an early colon cancer screening test, wants to bring together the majority of their employees at one central downtown location to encourage collaboration.
Exact Sciences is making efforts to encourage alternative means of transportation among their employees, including subsidizing bus passes and encouraging carpooling. Additionally, Exact Sciences has offered a guaranteed job increase to 400 jobs by 2019, and has promised 650 jobs by 2023.
Though the proposal passed in council, it will now need a multitude of approvals in the coming months in hopes of meeting the goal of a December construction start.
