Madison's office of planning and development rejected the Chicago firm Ardent Capital's plan to construct a 16-story condominium building on East Wilson Street that would destroy the building in which the Essen Haus, 514 E. Wilson St., resides. As a result, Ardent Capital has backed out of the plan, leaving Middleton partner Professional Reality and Development Corps. in charge.
\Essentially, if the [Chicago] firm were to have advanced that plan, the planning staff would recommend against approval,"" Ald. Judy Olson, District 6, said. ""They [PRDC] have to change their plan if they are going to have any chance of having any approval. And so, it will require them to go back to their drawing board, back to the neighborhood, to come up with a new plan.""
Because the neighborhood is a historic district, a plan for such a towering building was a concern for both city officials and local residents, as it would not conform to the area's guidelines. Typical buildings in this location, the First Settlement Historic District of Madison, are typically around two stories high.
""They are supposed to be consistent with the design of the neighborhood, and clearly, there are no 16-story buildings there,"" City Council President Brenda Konkel said.
Instead of the original 16-story plan, PRDC has ""indicated that they have a plan they are working on that is different, perhaps not different in density, but different in character than what was being proposed,"" Olson said.
This new plan would keep the original design's call for condominiums, maintaining the same number of living spaces but decreasing the height of the building.
Although the original plan was rejected, there is hope that the new plan has the potential to succeed. ""If the developer continues to work with the neighborhood, they can reach something that is acceptable to both parties,' Konkel said.
In the process of creating a successful plan, the residents of the area play a key role in accepting or rejecting any new proposal and will ""need to be consulted at every point along the way,"" Olson said. ""All of the First Settlement neighbors are very concerned about how this proposal will impact the neighborhood. Some are more eager than others to see the area redeveloped. There are varying points of view, so it will really be up to the developer to come up with a proposal that will gain consensus from the neighbors.\
