News & Notes
News and Notes for the Weeks of 1/16/21 - 2/5/21
A developer specializing in big housing projects in college communities is offering its largest so far in Madison, an estimated $100 million-plus, 10-story structure fronting the 300 block of State Street with 481 units, retail space and parking that would raze most of a Downtown block that houses several prominent businesses.
-Wisconsin State Journal

After a lengthy search and one near miss, Madison and Dane County are moving to purchase a vacant big-box retail store near East Towne Mall for a permanent shelter for homeless men.
-Wisconsin State Journal



A proposal to locate a permanent shelter for homeless men in a vacant big-box store near East Towne Mall is sparking some strong objections from neighbors, while advocates say it presents challenges but is workable and can deliver many needed resources in one place.
-Wisconsin State Journal



Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and five City Council members are proposing changes to city zoning rules intended to spark construction of much-needed multi-family housing.
-Wisconsin State Journal


Nine nonprofits and cooperatives are in line to share $3.1 million in city affordable housing and federal funds to help lower-income people secure, fix and maintain housing, Madison Community Development Division staff say.
-Wisconsin State Journal
Local Business Highlight
THE MELTING POT

Madison’s most unique dining experience since 2006. The Melting Pot, located at 6816 Odana Road, specializes in creating interactive dining experiences. Their four course delicious fondue dinners include creamy cheese, crisp salads, fresh meats and seafood, and decadent chocolate. Gluten-free and vegetarian items are available.

New owners Rob Arias and Mike Ronan, who previously ran corporate-owned Melting Pot restaurants, recently moved to Wisconsin from St. Petersburg, FL to take over the Madison and Brookfield stores. Here are some words from Rob and Mike:


Hello! We're the new owners of The Melting Pot of Madison and The Melting Pot of Brookfield (L to R - Robert, Mike). We couldn't be more excited to meet you!

As locally owned and operated restaurants, our communities are our family. For many years, you have included The Melting Pot in your celebrations and special occasions, and we will continue to help you make memorable moments into new memories. Our personal philosophy is every time you dine with us, we want you to have such a beautiful experience you can't wait to return. Stay healthy and we look forward to serving you soon.

Fonduely, Rob Arias and Mike Ronan 

This Valentine’s Day, enjoy a romantic evening connecting with your favorite person over fondue. Or invite your Galentines, your besties, your family or “basically-family” to a unique night out with decadent, handcrafted fondue and lasting memories. Because at the end of the day, Valentine’s is simply about expressing our love for the people that matter most. A luxurious menu has been crafted for February 13 & 14. So settle into one of our cozy booths, relax, unplug, and reconnect with your loved ones over fondue.

The Melting Pot also offers Fondue ToGo. Order online at: https://www.meltingpot.com/madison-wi/to-go.aspx
In a surprise shift, the state is moving the preferred site of the proposed $120 million, 100,000-square-foot Wisconsin Historical Society museum from the top of State Street to a full block that now features a massive, half-century-old state office building near Capitol Square.
-Wisconsin State Journal
Minority entrepreneurs have won city approvals for a $43 million, six-story, mixed-use project with lower-income housing, grocery store and parking at a long-vacant, city-owned property on the South Side.
-The Cap Times
As development pressure mounts, Madison could spend more than $1 million to buy more land to help guide future growth and protect against gentrification and displacement on the fast-evolving South Side.
-Wisconsin State Journal

Madison’s Metro Transit authority has abandoned plans to buy part of the former Oscar Mayer plant to use as a bus garage. Ald. Syed Abbas announced Tuesday that the city plans to purchase a FedEx distribution center near the Dane County Regional Airport rather than the 15-acre portion of the former food plant, which has significant environmental contamination associated with a century of industrial use.
-Wisconsin State Journal



Madison is eyeing a former FedEx facility on the city’s east side for a new Metro Transit bus garage rather than buying part of the old Oscar Mayer building.
-The Cap Times
UW Health is resuming plans to build a six-story clinic next to its hospital on Madison’s Far East Side, restarting a project put on hold last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and related financial losses.
-Wisconsin State Journal
The Madison City Council signed off Tuesday on a development team's proposal to build a large apartment tower and a new Whole Foods grocery store as part of a massive West Side development.
-Wisconsin State Journal
On Mother’s Day 1998, Lisa Rowin walked out of Woodman’s Market to see several firetrucks and police cars at the U.S. Postal Service building across Milwaukee Street. It wasn’t a burning building or an armed robbery that drew the response, but rather a herd of escaped cattle in the middle of Madison’s East Side. Rowin hoped the livestock had run off from a broken-down cattle truck, but a police officer confirmed what she suspected — the cattle were from her family’s farm half a mile west on Milwaukee Street.
-Wisconsin State Journal

Golf course builder Michael Keiser sees an opportunity for Madison’s Glenway Golf Course on the city’s near west side to inspire a new framework for the struggling game that could inspire other cities to follow suit.
-The Cap Times
Michael Keiser and his family have long appreciated the biodiversity and shared uses of golf courses in places like Scotland and Ireland. “What I do, and my family does, is draw a lot of inspiration from the (United Kingdom) and introduce these ancient golf traditions that have been played for 600 years to the American golfer,” the Madisonian and prominent golf developer said. “One of them is the ground is to be shared; great architecture can co-exist with great ecology.”
-Wisconsin State Journal