Two Chicago-based companies appeared before the City of Madison Board of Estimates Wednesday evening to pitch their development ideas for the Judge Doyle Square project.
Beilter Real Estate Services and Vermillion Enterprises, LLC both proposed hotels and retail centers for the area, which includes two blocks of land in between Monona Terrace and Capitol Square.
Specifically, under Beilter’s proposal, the area would eventually feature an LA Fitness, an organic shopping mart and a Trek Bicycle Store, according to Beilter President J. Paul Beilter. All of these retail services would be constructed to draw guests from the proposed hotel.
Vermillion LLC proposed a similar plan that included an apartment building and office facility, as well as several bicycle facilities and parking.
Beilter currently has a written commitment from Intercontinental Hotels should the city decide to move forward with their proposal. Conversely, Vermillion, LLC has a written commitment from Marriott Hotels.
One of the board’s main concerns was whether or not the hotels would bring as much consumer revenue as planned in the proposals.
Madison Mayor Paul Soglin voiced concern over whether or not new restaurants near the hotels would succeed given Madison’s thriving food industry.
“You’re going to have a situation where people are going to be coming home from meetings” Soglin said, “and they’re going to want something more than just grab-and-go food.”
The Beilter proposal would cost approximately $125 million and the Vermillion proposal would cost around $200 million.
The city is scheduled to make a decision on the project within the next coming months.
