District News and Notes for December 8

Here are some updates on events and projects in our district.

University Crossing phase 2 meeting
Though construction of Phase 1 has not yet begun, the second phase of University Crossing is in the planning stages. Phase 2 will consist of two parts: an office/retail mixed use building in the northeast corner of the site near the University/Whitney Way intersection, and a residential building of apartments surrounding a parking facility. Come get a first look at the plans for phase 2 at a neighborhood meeting on Monday, December 12 at 6:30 pm at Mt. Olive Church, 110 N. Whitney Way. This is a pre-application meeting; formal application to the city for phase 2 will be made early next year.

Carmax coming to Odana Road
Carmax, the country's largest used car retailer, will be opening their first Madison-area outlet on Odana Road next year. (Other Wisconsin locations are Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Waukesha.) Carmax will be demolishing the Gordie Boucher Lincoln-Mitsubishi building at 6601 Odana and building a new 20,000 square foot showroom and service center. They typically build much larger facilities in green fields, so I'm glad to see them reusing an urban site instead.

New retail center on S. Gammon
The long-vacant former Ponderosa Steak House at 515 S. Gammon Road will be redeveloped early next year with up to four retail tenants. No specific uses have been revealed yet, but the developers are hoping to land a coffee shop and full-service restaurant.

Private well permits to be phased out
Last month I was very surprised to learn that there are more than 150 homes in the city that use a private well instead of city water. About 30 of these homes are here in the 19th district.

The Madison Water Utility is proposing an ordinance change that would require homes that have city water available to connect and close their private well over the next several years. There is an exception if the house is setback more than 200 feet from the water main. The purpose of this change is to protect public health and safety, and to reduce the costs of administering the private well permitting program. The ordinance will be considered by the Common Council this coming Tuesday, December 13.

If you have a private well, please contact me or the Water Utility for more information about this change, including the timeline and options for temporary extensions. You can read the full ordinance here.

Got questions about this or any other city issue? Please contact me at district19@cityofmadison.com or 608-695-5709.

Subscribe to this blog and get e-mail updates on many other city topics by joining my.cityofmadison.com at the link below.