As plans for the redevelopment of University Square are being finalized, some tenants are worried about their future during construction and in the new building.
The old one-story shopping center, home of such Madison mainstays as Paisan's, 80 University Square, University Square Theaters, 62 University Square and Madhatters, 3 University Square, will be torn down. A multi-story building, containing retail space, student apartments and UW-Madison offices is set to replace it.
Greg Rice heads Executive Management Inc., which owns the University Square property. Rice said the existing property will not be torn down for at least a year and EMI is still in the final process of deciding exactly what the new building will be.
Current occupants said they are in the dark for now about their future plans.
Debra Henry, co-owner of Bakers Too, 12 University Square, said she has not heard anything about when the redevelopment will occur.
\My understanding is that it will happen, but the time frame is up in the air now,"" she said.
Liam Oz, a sales clerk at Campus Optical and Sunglass Shop, 20 University Square, said he is not sure the development will happen at all.
""I think it's going to be a long time before they do anything because they've been saying they're going to do it for so long,"" he said.
Oz added that problems and delays with the redevelopment would only scare the businesses away to State Street.
""Come on. The World Trade Center project is coming along faster than this,"" he said.
The timing and the final plans may be especially complicated because the new project involves not only EMI, but also the university is looking for more space.
According to Henry, the original plan involved underground parking, two retail floors and two seven-floor towers, one that would contain housing and one that would be used for university office space.
The university may also be involved in finding relocation space for the tenants during construction, which may last for over a year.
""EMI said that they had contacted somebody from the university that handles university property, and they were going to try to find us property to temporarily lease during the interim,"" Henry said.
She added that the perfect space would be the university-owned buildings across University Avenue, between Brother's, 704 University Ave. and the Peterson Building.
Other businesses are more pessimistic. Kurt Ellison, a staff member at the UW Infoshop, 31 University Square, said their business would be pushed out of the area in redevelopment.
He added that he has yet to hear a solid answer about what will be replacing it.
""I think it is somewhat suspicious that they are still renting out space to new businesses when they've been tentatively telling us they're ripping the place down in three months,"" Ellison said.
However, Rice said many University Square tenants were enthusiastic about the development.
""I would guess that most of them are unhappy that they'll be having to relocate for a period of time, but they all seem to be excited about their prospects,"" he said.
