Madison's Plan Commission approves Essen Haus redevelopment
Occupy Madison's third tiny house village also cleared the commission. The city Plan Commission approved JCap Real Estate's plans to redevelop the block where Essen Haus German restaurant is located. The proposal would preserve the Hotel Ruby Marie at 524 E. Wilson St. and replace it with an eight-story, 178-unit residential building on South Blair Street and a six-story hotel on East Wilson Street. The city also approved the Old Sauk Road development and Occupy Madison's third tiny house village. This is the fourth redevelopment attempt for the block since 2000 and has advanced further through the city’s approval process than any other previous ones. The commission also allowed several other development initiatives to advance.
प्रकाशित : 10 महीने पहले द्वारा nicole pollack, Nicole Pollack | Wisconsin State Journal में Business
The city Plan Commission on Monday night approved JCap Real Estate’s plans to redevelop the block that holds the Essen Haus German restaurant .
The Eau Claire developer’s proposal would preserve the Hotel Ruby Marie at 524 E. Wilson St. and raze the rest of the block, including 506, 510, 514, 516 and 518 E. Wilson St. and 134, 140, 148 and 150 S. Blair St. JCap would replace them with an eight-story, 178-unit residential building on South Blair Street and a six-story, 100-room hotel on East Wilson Street, and would rebuild the facades of the Come Back In and J.B. Drives Store Building as part of the hotel.
The city also approved the Old Sauk Road development and signed off on Occupy Madison's third tiny house village.
The project is the fourth redevelopment effort for the block since 2000 and has advanced further through the city’s approval process than any of the previous three.
City staff attributed JCap’s relative success in part to its decision to replace the existing properties with two buildings, only one of which falls within the boundaries of the First Settlement Historic District.
“The Planning Department has advised so many to build on the site — but yet so few have been willing to do so — with a two-or-more-building approach to the site, given its unique configuration,” said City Planner Tim Parks.
JCap has made substantial changes to the exterior design since the project was first proposed, including setting the apartment building’s higher stories farther back from South Blair Street and reducing the amount of sheet metal that would be visible to passersby.
Much of the discussion on Monday concerned the “living street” that JCap plans to build between the apartment and hotel. Some of the commissioners questioned whether the space would be able to accommodate pedestrians, outdoor dining and open space in addition to vehicular traffic but concluded that the project still met the criteria for approval.
“Generally, I’m in support of this project,” said Ald. Marsha Rummel, District 6, whose district includes the site. JCap “figured out how to deal with all the barriers ... that all the other proposals ran into,” Rummel said.
A push to build a three-story, 138-unit apartment building at 6610–6706 Old Sauk Road on the final four acres of the Pierstorff farm , which once spanned 160 acres on Madison’s West Side, has met considerable resistance from the surrounding community. The project, co-led by Stone House and New Madison Development, would raze the two houses, duplex and barn now standing at the site.
More than a dozen residents had spoken in opposition to the proposal when the State Journal went to press Monday night. Many said they believe the apartment building is too big for the neighborhood, will increase traffic and congestion and will reduce stormwater drainage, increasing the area’s flood risk.
The rest of the former farm has been converted to houses, condominiums and a smaller apartment building.
“We always knew that that land would be sold, it would be developed, and we’re not opposed to development,” Lynn Green, former director of the Dane County Department of Human Services and a nearby resident, said before the meeting. “We just believe that the proposal across the street is just totally inappropriate for this neighborhood.”
The commission also allowed several other development initiatives to advance, including: