Madison's Board of Estimates came to a unanimous decision on a resolution for the city to begin negotiations with Judge Doyle Square Development, LLC.
The city decided to use proposals from JDS Development, LLC, for redevelopments on the block where the Madison Municipal Building and Government East Garage are located. Local officials chose the JDS development over alternative development firms due to their preferable visionary plans and reasonable costs.
“The meat of the resolution is that we are authorizing city staff to begin negotiations with JDS development, LLC,” Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said. The resolution also includes nine general principles relating to the project such as preserving the Madison Municipal Building for civic use, repairing the old Government East parking ramp and establishing a 250-room hotel.
Verveer said the negotiation process is expected to be lengthy, extending to late summer or early fall.
“We expect those negotiations to be so rigorous in part because there are so many details that need to be worked out,” Verveer said.
Madison city officials recently encountered conflicts with the Madison School District due to anticipated Tax Incremental Funding for the project.
The school district sent a letter to Mayor Paul Soglin requesting the closure of TIF District 25 to receive funding from the revenue generated in the district. District 25 could also fund a portion of the project if it remains open due to the potential revenue it can still generate before its state-administered closure in 27 years, according to Ald. Lisa Subeck, District 1.
The TIF district has ongoing obligations from many years ago when it was first established for the block 89 project with revenue bonds. According to Subeck, closing the district could be “problematic” because the revenue made on the bonds would be reverted.
Keeping the revenue open until its scheduled closure could generate between $50 and $60 million as opposed to the estimated $16 million it would receive from immediate closure.
“At this point, no decision has been made about how much TIF funding will be used or where the funding would go,” Subeck said. “Right now we’re just at the beginning stages of negotiations.”
