Madison is pursuing a future for the sprawling East Towne Mall area with much more housing, denser retail, high-rise office buildings, new streets and, maybe one day, replacing some or all of the mall.
After the COVID-19 pandemic left the Dane County Regional Airport largely deserted, an expected surge in travel and a roughly $85 million expansion project should propel the airport to pre-pandemic operation levels — and likely beyond.
The Dane County Regional Airport on Madison's north side is close to starting construction on its $85 million south terminal expansion project — the largest single project it has undertaken.
Madison Gas and Electric has completed work on Dane County’s largest solar farm to date, which will provide clean energy to local governments and businesses. MGE President Jeff Keebler said the $31.7 million O’Brien Solar Fields in Fitchburg demonstrates that the utility can work with customers to reduce carbon emissions in a cost-effective way.
Republicans approved $1.5 billion for state building projects over the next two years, removing about $810 million in projects that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers requested.
Madison policymakers now have another tool to address the city’s affordable housing crisis after the City Council adopted a land banking policy at its meeting last week. Land banking is a strategy to acquire real estate that can include vacant lots and abandoned buildings, and transition them into future opportunities for economic development, affordable housing projects and other city uses.
Two local development agencies have secured federal pandemic relief funds to identify what sorts of economic development projects would be best suited to each part of the Madison region.
