Plan Commision OKs apartments for corner of East Washington, North Seventh Street
Madison's Plan Commission unanimously approved a proposed East Side apartment building on Monday.
The five-story, $30.5 million development would be located on the corner of East Washington Avenue and North Seventh Street, where a vacant Speedy Muffler shop and a handful of other buildings — including a single-family home and two duplexes — stand today.
The project would have a total of 76 one-, two- and three-bedroom units, 40 of which would be reserved for low-income renters. The plan also calls for 61 surface parking stalls and 260 square feet of commercial space. It also would be located along the city's new bus rapid transit route, where Madison leaders hope to increase housing density.
Led by Fond du Lac-based developer Volker, the project has been recommended by city staff to receive $2.5 million in support from Madison's Affordable Housing Fund .
The proposal has advanced through the city review process with very little resistance thus far, except for concerns neighbors have raised about traffic, tree loss and the building's height, and some criticism of its neutral color palette by members of the city's Urban Design Commission.
"I just think that in about 10 years, we're all going to regret the black and white going up around town ad nauseam," Urban Design Commission member Jessica Klehr said at an informational presentation on Aug. 14.
Klehr echoed her own comments in late October when the developer returned to seek Urban Design Commission approval.
The white-and-beige siding and darker accent paneling — lightened in the updated design from black to iron gray — felt "safe," she said.
"I feel like we're starting to see repetition a lot in our city with massing and shapes and detailing, and maybe one of the last frontiers we can go at are things like materials and color," Klehr said.
The Urban Design Commission voted unanimously in favor of the project last month. The Plan Commission followed on Monday without any additional discussion.
The City Council still has to give its approval for the project to proceed. The Council is scheduled to weigh in on it Nov. 26.
Growth and development reporter
