Regent Street is kind of a dump. There, I said it.
On the other hand, if ever there was a dump worth preserving, it would be Regent Street.
Residents and business owners from the Regent Street area met Monday night with Ald. Austin King at the Neighborhood House to discuss the future of the street. This forum came on the heels of a $20,000 Madison City Council pledge to aid Regent Street's redevelopment. Housing, business growth and aesthetic appeal were among the topics discussed. Although the meeting yielded no actual plan, it signaled the beginning of a new chapter for Regent Street.
Pushing an ambitious initiative, Mr. King seems anxious to accelerate the renewal and modernization of the street. For this, he cannot be blamed. Indeed, it's about time attention is paid to this oft-forgotten part of Madison.
Unfortunately, undertaking a massive overhaul of Regent Street entails the risk of creating the latest pocket of suburban-esque corporatism within the City of Madison. To understand this, one must look no further than State Street.
Downtown Madison today is drastically different than it was as recently as five years ago. Where local stores used to prosper, chain businesses and corporate franchises abound. Students going downtown can no longer expect to frequent stores like The Den, More Books and the Art Mart, but rather find establishments such as Starbucks, McDonald's, Taco Bell and Walgreens. Sucked dry of any local flavor, State Street now bares a closer resemblance to your average shopping mall than it does to the eclectic collection of independent shops and restaurants for which it was once renowned.
Fortunately, although Madison's flagship quarter could now be covered and labeled a complimentary "Mid-town" to the city's "East-Town" and "West-Town" malls, there still remain a few bastions of inimitable uniqueness amid the state capital's increasingly homogenous atmosphere.
Certainly, the Regent Street area is not recognized as one of Madison's most engaging districts. Walking along the street, one encounters cracked pavement, vacant buildings and shabby bars. Yet despite its admitted inability to charm the passerby, there is something to the neglected avenue that no Banana Republic could provide: character.
While the rest of Madison has been overrun by corporate America, Regent Street has somehow resisted the national trend of yielding local autonomy to the likes of Wal-Mart and The Home Depot. It's refreshing to walk down a sidewalk and pass Greenbush Bakery, Budget Bicycle Center, SukhoThai and Indie Coffee — unique establishments whose personalities draw from their independent streaks. Regent Street's storefront facades may lack the sterile sparkle of new franchise stores, but they offer rare inspiration in a world dominated by cookie-cutter uniformity.
'Modernization' and 'revitalization' are audibly pleasing words with typically pleasant connotations. However, when put into practice with regards to city planning, these terms can often imply surrendering established distinction to the ruthless and necessity-driven beast that is economic development.
It's doubtful many Madisonians wish to see their city miss an opportunity to better herself, but it is important to consider what exactly constitutes improvement.
Regent Street is undeniably in desperate need of a facelift. Any plan to improve the street, however, must ensure the implementation of a modest restoration while taking a careful approach toward the enticement of businesses.
The quest to create an appropriate Regent Street redevelopment plan is a hopeful one — hopeful in that it might both fix existing ailments and avoid the identity change so commonly caused by such renewals.
Mr. King is on the right track in spearheading a campaign to revamp Regent Street. I simply hope that modernization does not eliminate one of Madison's last unconventional neighborhoods.
Rob Rossmeissl ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism and political science.
