The proposed development of a new apartment building found support among Madison’s Plan Commission after presenting updated plans to the commission’s members during a meeting Monday.
Uncommon, the proposed apartment structure, will replace an old corrugated boxes warehouse on the corner of West Mifflin Street and North Bedford Street. According to designers, it will house close to 400 students and young professionals.
“I think it’s a great project,” Commissioner Eric Sundquist said. “Having worked with the downtown plan and seeing the evolution over the decade or so in that area, [I can tell] that this is going to be great.”
The commission’s support came with several conditions, largely relating to the availability of moped parking.
Its members called for more moped parking at the site, saying the originally specified 17 spaces weren’t enough to accommodate for a building that could house nearly 400 residents.
According to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, cluttered moped parking has been a problem for the city in the past.
“There’ll be more than 17 people living in this building in any given year that have mopeds with them, and they need a place to park them without blocking the sidewalk,” Verveer said.
Uncommon is part of a new wave of apartment projects in the area, which Verveer says is in response to an increased demand for downtown housing.
While the housing industry usually considers 5 percent a normal vacancy rate, the rates downtown hover between 1 and 2 percent, Verveer said.
New apartments like Uncommon could also help address the high prices students face for apartments.
“The rents downtown are … ridiculously high,” Verveer said. “There just is not enough competition for apartments. The hope is that, as we add more and more apartments downtown, the rents will stabilize.”
