Edgewater Hotel, Shorewood Hills – By Ken Harwood

Edgewater developer makes significant
changes to plan

In a major concession to critics of a controversial plan to renovate The Edgewater hotel, the Hammes Co. on Wednesday unveiled plans to move a proposed eight-story hotel tower farther from Wisconsin Avenue.

The move, along with new plans to build a second parking structure for the hotel, got good reviews from critics and members of the Urban Design Commission, although questions remain about the tower’s height.

During informal vote counts at the commission meeting Wednesday, members were generally comfortable with most aspects of the new plan, including architectural features, proposed parking and setback from Wisconsin Avenue…

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Developer Reducing Height Of Proposed
Edgewater Tower

Madison – 2/17/2010 The developer behind the proposed Edgewater Hotel expansion project is reducing the height of the tower in the plan, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The shorter tower would open up a wider view of the lake…

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OPINION – Suggestions on how to improve Madison’s development process

Madison Area - 2/13/2010 What should be done about Madison’s development review process? Eliminate the Landmarks Commission’s 200-foot rule for visual compatibility for projects. Remove the supermajority requirement. zoning code and Downtown Plan. Streamline the process. Change the city’s attitude..

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Ken Notes: It is almost as if someone actually reads my comments as I have suggested a few of these for quite a while now. There is one idea still missing, we need a plan for how we get to one million people living in the region. Where do we place high density, low density, gardens, farms, estates, transportation, low income homes, big boxes, small retail, new urban, traditional neighborhoods, green environments, and new businesses.

Shorewood Hills board votes down affordable housing plan

Shorewood Hills - 2/16/2010 A controversial plan to build six stories of affordable housing in affluent Shorewood Hills in the nearly vacant Pyare Square building was torpedoed by the village board 6-1 Monday night. Village Board President Mark Sundquist, who supported the plan that would replace the 14-story cylindrical tower at 4610 University Ave. just west of the UW-Madison campus, said the other members of the board were concerned that it would be difficult to provide fire services to the 69-unit residential apartment building….

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KEN HARWOOD
The Future Wisconsin Project and Wisconsin Development News
P.O. Box 930234 Verona, WI 53593-0234
Phone (608) 334-2174

MATC Smart Investment Could Be Hard Sell With Voters

Madison Area – 8/19/2010 …here is a laudable proposal by Madison Area Technical College to spend up to $150 million in the next couple of years on building projects to accommodate students in programs that lead to family-supporting jobs in IT, software engineering, health care, public safety and many other fields. There are now long waiting lists for admission to many of these programs… the toxic tea party terrain of 2010 where any public institution asking voters to pay even a little more in taxes for a greater long-term good $20 to $40 per year on an average home for the next 20 years seems chancy.

Ken Notes:This project will need a great public relations campaign to move it forward but if MATC can listen and be flexible I think the can get it done. I hope they can get it done.

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Gateways To Madison: Officials Vow To Spruce Up City Entryways

Madison’s most attractive gateway, John Nolen Drive, is targeted for new upgrades, but city officials say that doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten promises to fix up its three less attractive siblings.

More progress must be made on the East Washington Avenue, South Park Street and University Avenue corridors, so they don’t undermine the central city’s most enduring claim to fame — its beauty, officials say.

“All of these gateways are crucial to the future economic development of the city and the region,” said Ald. Tim Bruer, the City Council’s senior member, whose district includes…

Ken Notes:Wouldn’t it be nice if each of these gateways had an efficient cost effective mass transit corridor to bring people into the city.

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As RTA Plans Emerge, More Municipalities Put Transit Tax Referendums On Ballot

As the Dane County Regional Transit Authority begins to flesh out the details of its transit plan, more municipalities are putting a transit sales tax advisory referendum on their local fall ballot.

The RTA Board is unlikely to hold a referendum in November, so several municipalities are considering asking voters whether they support a half-cent sales tax for commuter rail. Sun Prairie, Cottage Grove, Waunakee and several towns have already voted to put the question on the fall ballot and others will be voting on the proposal in coming weeks.

The RTA Board has committed to holding a referendum before imposing a sales tax to fund its operations, so communities that vote this fall will likely vote again on the issue in a future election.

Tom Wilson, an RTA Board member and administrator of the town of Westport, which voted Monday to hold the referendum, said he doesn’t see a problem with local communities weighing in on commuter rail now.

“If all the communities want to go ahead and have a referendum on commuter rail, they’re certainly entitled to do that,” Wilson said. “The more information we can get, the better.”
But RTA Board Chairman Dick Wagner cautioned that interpreting the results of those votes could be complicated.

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KEN HARWOOD
The Future Wisconsin Project and Wisconsin Development News
P.O. Box 930234 Verona, WI 53593-0234
Phone (608) 334-2174