Following the city’s approval Tuesday, developers will convert a historic school in the Greenbush neighborhood into apartments and construct an aesthetically similar residence adjacent to it despite a lengthy debate about commercial parking in residential areas.
The Alexander Co. is in the final stages of purchasing the Longfellow School, located at 210 S. Brooks St., from Meriter Hospital to transform it into 41 apartments. They also plan to construct a new three-story, 64-unit apartment building next to the school, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
The property deal includes allowing Meriter Hospital to continue using the premise for valet parking.
Contention arose on the Council floor regarding a condition the Plan Commission attached to the proposal Monday that stipulated if the ownership of Meriter were to change, the hospital would lose its parking rights. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said there have been “rumors” Meriter may be sold soon.
Madison Mayor Paul Soglin advised the Council to take the Plan Commission’s amendment one step further by eliminating all Meriter parking connected to the proposal because the “horrid” and illegal practice of commercial parking in residential neighborhoods is one of the reasons downtown Madison has not grown in decades.
Soglin said property owners who violate city ordinances by allowing commuters to park in residential lots discourages people from renting in those buildings and puts developers who abide by city codes at an economic disadvantage.
Ald. Sue Ellingson, District 13, said the property value that the 105 Longfellow apartments will add to her district will make a big difference. She also said arguing over the future status of 30 parking stalls is “inappropriate.”
“It’s trivial compared to what we’ve got here,” Ellingson said. “We’ve got a $10 million beautiful new building that’s going to be well-managed versus zero: a dead school and a vacant lot.”
The Council approved the Longfellow redesign and the construction of an adjacent residence with the added amendment that Meriter Hospital would maintain parking privileges on the premise, even if the hospital’s ownership were to shift.
The Council also gave final approval to the Washington Plaza proposal, which will convert 425 W. Washington Ave. into a mixed-use Capital Fitness center, optometrist office and 50-unit apartment building.
