City officials approved plans Monday to convert a downtown Catholic school into a student-oriented apartment complex Monday and permitted Essen Haus to build an outdoor volleyball court.
The proposal to convert Holy Redeemer Catholic School, located at 120 W. Johnson St., into an apartment complex, called Lumin House, triggered opposition from parishioners of the disconnected, adjacent Holy Redeemer Church.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said parishioners and community members attended neighborhood and city meetings throughout the approval process to express their disapproval of the proposal, which he said “in many respects, has torn apart the members of the Redeemer Parish that worship at Holy Redeemer Church.”
Holy Redeemer members’ expressed concerns about overcrowding in the area and losing the school with which they have close family and personal ties, as well as worry Lumin House would not share the same tax exemption as Pres House.
During Pres House’s development, the state passed a law excusing the owners from paying property taxes because they offer faith-based housing exclusively to University of Wisconsin-Madison students. Lumin House will offer Catholic housing to students, and meeting attendees argued it deserves the same legal status as Pres House.
Attorney Fred Mohs said the law was never meant to become a standard for new developments.
“Pres House was not supposed to be a precedent; it was supposed to stand alone and be the only facility that would have this exemption,” he said. “But how naive to believe that real estate developers would not seek the holy grail in real estate ownership.”
Still, Verveer said Lumin House meets the law’s standards and will therefore be granted immunity from paying property taxes.
However, Holy Redeemer acknowledged Lumin House residents will enjoy city services, such as public safety protections, and agreed to pay $15,000 annually to the city in recognition of those services. He also said due to non-discrimination laws, Holy Redeemer will not be able to limit Lumin House apartments to Catholic students.
The Plan Commission passed the proposal, which will now go before the City Council April 30 for final approval.
Commission members also voted unanimously to permit the addition of a volleyball court at Essen Haus, located at 514 E. Wilson St., in response to recently losing two city sand volleyball courts after Logan’s Madtown Bar closed and the city approved the Stadium Bar demolition.
