New Grocery Store, Affordable Housing, Building Energy Savings

Hi Everyone,

Here are this week's updates:

New Grocery Store

As you may have seen in the paper, another hurdle was recently crossed in securing a full-service grocery store for South Madison residents. The City of Madison has reached an agreement with Kristie Maurer to open a store in South Madison, located in the new building currently under construction at the corner of South Park Street and Cedar Street. The City will be purchasing condo space for the grocery store from the development team consisting of Rule Enterprises and nonprofit Movin' Out, and leasing it to Kristie Maurer to open her store, Maurer's Urban Market.

This has been one of my top priorities since I was first elected as alder four years ago. I am very pleased with the progress to date, particularly given the many challenges this project has faced. Once completed, we will not only have a full-service grocery store to replace Pick 'n Save, but there will also be 150 units of much needed affordable housing.

I'm deeply grateful for the hard work of city staff, particularly Dan Rolfs in the Real Estate Division. Mayor Rhodes-Conway also deserves a tremendous amount of credit in keeping this project moving forward. It will be a great day when we can finally cut the ribbon and open Maurer's Urban Market on the south side!

Affordable Housing and Building Energy Savings

At last week's Common Council meeting, we voted to approve two very positive steps forward for our city. First, Council unanimously passed the Building Energy Savings Program, a critical step in meeting our climate goals.  I worked on this for two years with fellow alders and the Mayor's office. Special thanks goes to Jessica Price, the city's Sustainability Manager, for all her diligent work in keping this vital program on track.

Second, Council approved to approve a densityy bonus program for downtown development, one that will allow developers to add more units and additional height provided at least half of the additional units are affordable. Height restrictions preserving the view of the State Capitol remain in effect.

Bus Rapid Transit Construction

Metro Transit will hold a public information meeting on Tuesday, March 14 at 6:00 pm to talk about construction related to its Bus Rapid Transit project. Attend this information meeting to learn more about road work, construction timelines, and effects on traffic. Much of the work will require traffic control and lane closures.

Lastly...

A reminder that you can use sand instead of salt to maintain safe passage on our sidewalls. However, if you do use salt, please remember to sweep up any excess salt once the pavement is dry.

Take care and stay safe,

Tag