Madison Public Market
Lots has been going on between the city, property owner and Madison Public Market Foundation. The foundation was selected as the Public Market operator, and a revised site plan was released.
The revised site plan returns the Public Market to the original location at the southwest corner of the Fiore Shopping Center parking lot (directly across from Burr Jones Park). You can see the latest proposed plans at madisonpublicmarket.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/PRESENT_MPM_sm.AW-edits-6.22.2018.pdf.
The advantage of this site is the connection to the public park, access to surface parking and the city’s ability to control the site. The current plan also creates a stand-alone building, which will allow direct outdoor access.
In late August or early September, I plan to host a public meeting for area residents to discuss the project and meet the architect and the property owners (who are proposing their own redevelopment at the corner with residential, commercial and hotel uses).
Oscar Mayer
The City Strategic Assessment Committee continues to discuss potential reuse of the site. TASC, a local business, has moved some of their employees to the second floor of the Oscar Mayer office building. The property owner continues to market the existing buildings. The site received a $500,000 WEDC Idle Sites Grant to improve the buildings and provide more flexibility in their future use.
At our next meeting, the committee will discuss public engagement (a future public meeting everyone is invited to attend) and continue discussion about what the planning area should be, what the city should expect the reuse of the site should be and how it interacts with the adjoining neighborhoods and residents.
While the city does not have much control over the reuse of existing facilities, it does have control over new facilities and improvements to the site (such as bike paths and parking lot). In addition, future reuse of the Oscar Mayer site can be coordinated with other sites (such as Madison College, Hooper Construction and airport sites).
