The Judge Doyle Square Committee came to an agreement the Madison Municipal Building should be used for civic purposes after deliberating Thursday on alternative potential uses for the building presented by developers in previous city meetings.
“I continue to feel very strongly that the Madison Municipal Building should remain in civic use,” Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said.
Two major developing firms, who presented previously to the committee, both agreed to add a hotel to the 88 block. The Journeyman Group based out of Austin, TX partnered with Marcus Hotels and Resorts proposed to construct a large hotel just behind the Municipal Building. The second group, Madison-based JDS Developments, previously presented the city committee with two different proposals, one similar to the Journeyman proposal with a hotel on South Pinckney but preferable hotel designs according to Verveer.
An important point made at the meeting addressed the issue of excessive costs for the new developments. Verveer explained the importance of downsizing the project for the sake of taxpayers’ dollars. Downsizing would include making recommended negotiations with developers to cut down the number of hotel rooms and proposed offices.
Other details brought up during the meeting include a need for a corridor to connect Martin Luther King Boulevard and Pinckney Street. There was also controversy over the construction of a new parking garage and whether or not it should be above or underground.
The cost of the project was a concern for some members of the public who spoke out at the meeting.
“We are very much opposed to subsidizing another luxury hotel for the Monona Terrace Convention Center,” Andy Olsen, the spokesperson for Citizens Against Subsidized Hotels, said. “Public engagement needed to increase public opposition.”
Isthmus Architecture’s study provided an in-depth evaluation of the history of the building along with comparisons of other cities’ local government buildings that are utilized for activities other than civic purposes. Bryan Cooper, a Madison city engineer, provided examples such as Philadelphia’s City Hall that accommodates a municipal employee choral ensemble.
“I do think that the one opportunity that we have is to activate the entire two blocks and certainly activate Martin Luther King Boulevard which I think everyone agrees has been missing,” Ald. Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, District 5, said.
The committee will reconvene Feb. 3 to decide on one of the two developers for the project.
