The face of Madison has changed frequently over the past few years with the addition of numerous high rise apartments. The recent reconstruction of University Square makes many wonder when it will stop, but, as much as it pains me to say it, this is actually good for the housing market in Madison.
By investing millions of dollars on a ridiculously high-rent apartment complex, Steve Brown knew what he was doing. As UW-Madison students come from increasingly high-income households - the median annual family income is now about $90,000, according to a 2007 Wisconsin State Journal article - buildings like Lucky and the Aberdeen will continue to fill up fast.
Say what you will about less-advantaged students being squeezed out of UW-Madison (they are), the facts are clear - as more students are willing to pay for this type of housing, more of it is bound to spring up. But what effect does this market shift have on the cheaper housing further off campus, such as the Bassett and Vilas neighborhoods?
As anyone who has lived in one of these houses can attest, they fall to shit. Of course, landlords have been hoodwinking poor college students into renting these apartments for years, knowing they can exploit the high turnover rate for financial gain. Combine this with a market shifting toward higher rents and we see a growing number of vacancies, which lead landlords to invest even less money in repairs.
All signs point to deteriorating neighborhoods on the outskirts of campus. Soon the city must choose between a hands-off approach and an intervention.
According to a recent Wisconsin State Journal article, the Allied Drive neighborhood used to be in a similar situation. Built in the 1960s, the neighborhood targeted upperclassmen and graduate students, but when better options became available closer to campus, vacancies increased and tenant screening became lax, according to the article. Allied Drive is now one of the most crime-riddled neighborhoods in the city.
Since then, Madison has implemented TIF (tax incremental financing) districts across the city, including the Bassett, State Street and Capitol Square areas. In the 1990s, when the Bassett neighborhood was struggling, these TIF funds allowed a group of developers to buy up property, rehabbing them into single-family homes, according to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4.
It's a means to encourage owner-occupied housing in the neighborhood and provide stability,"" he said.
With the Vilas neighborhood in a similar situation now, Ald. Julia Kerr, District 13, has requested a $50,000 grant to design a strategy to encourage Madison employees - many of whom work for the university or nearby hospitals - to purchase these homes and restore them. With research showing many employees wanting to live closer to work, this may be a suitable option, Kerr said.
This grant is a good start, and it will help tighten the student housing market, but more is needed. The Vilas neighborhood must also strive to become a TIF district so it can attract the same kind of developers that rehabilitated the Bassett areas in the 1990s, with the ultimate goal of transforming entire blocks into single-family residences. To do this, it needs an increment generator, or a ""money-maker,"" according to Verveer, which one of the hospitals could provide.
Dilapidated properties can then be taken off the hands of poor landlords, who can no longer afford upkeep, while providing developers a chance to tap a new housing market. There will still be ample low-rent housing available to students, and more buying options close to campus will appeal to UW-Madison staff, hospital staff and other young professionals.
It may be an expensive undertaking for developers to convert these homes, and it may cost the city some money in the short-term, but the overall investment is well worth it. Plus, as we've seen with buildings like Lucky, expensive is now the norm in Madison, and area developers are willing to pay the price.
Erik Opsal is a senior majoring in journalism and political science. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
