Although Common Council has yet to vote on a proposal to build a new, combined apartment and retail complex located on the 500 block of State Street, restaurant owners who would be displaced by the project are making arrangements to secure their business’ future.
Chicago developer Core Campus is hoping to construct a 996-bedroom, 12-story building featuring a rooftop pool and a roughly 18,000-square-foot, second-floor courtyard, according to designs. Individual units would range from studio to five-bedroom apartments, and the first floor would be designated for commercial use.
“The Hub at Madison” would replace the 45-room University Inn Motel as well as several restaurants, including the recently opened Roast Public House; 34-year-old Husnu’s, a Turkish restaurant; Buraka, East African Cuisine; and Kabul, Afghani-Mediterranean Eatery.
Roast co-owner Henry Aschauer said he and his colleagues have secured a lease across the street, where they will permanently move their business, but he’s “not positive” if any of the other restaurant owners have solidified a place to relocate, either permanently or for the duration of the 15-18-month-long construction period.
“Last I knew all of them were actively looking at other locations, whether it be on State Street, or whether it be somewhere in the immediate area,” Aschauer said.
Although some community members have resisted the proposal, arguing the displacement of multiple State Street staples will detract from the corridor’s vibrance and rich history, Aschauer said he thinks it would enhance the city’s housing market. But he said he is not sold on the targeted student audience.
“I’m not necessarily sure the demographic they’re going after needs to be targeted, but all in all I think Madison is progressing with everything that’s coming in from Epic [Systems] and the graduate schools... so I think potentially it could be very good for the city,” Aschauer said.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said most of the rental prices will exceed the average University of Wisconsin-Madison student’s budget, but he strongly supports The Hub because he said it is a better use of the space. However, he said he will be conscious of both the exterior designs and the preservation of the small businesses being displaced in his consideration of the proposal.
Regardless, Verveer said “the odds of approval are significantly high” when Common Council hears the proposal Aug. 6.
