Brayton Lot Redevelopment Height Map Revision

Introduction:

The Brayton Lot Redevelopment serves as a once in a lifetime chance to place a model development in the heart of downtown. This chance gives us the ability to increase the availability of housing at a time when fairness in housing choice is sparse to many current and prospective Madison area families. Alders Field, Govindarajan, Figueroa Cole, and I have proposed a revision to the height map to increase the availability of housing on the Brayton Lot from 4-stories to 10-stories on the East Main St side. It is our hope that this change will allow us to choose among the best proposals at this quintessential site.

Disclaimers:

Before we get wrapped around the idea of a height amendment, let us dispel one important misunderstanding that may arise: Amending the height map to 10-stories does not necessarily mean that we will get a 10-story building. This change provides us the CHOICE of a higher and more dense development. The reason why myself and my fellow alders are revisiting the height map is predicated on the idea of removing obstacles to housing. When reviewing the plans and amendment, I urge you to ask:

What is the downside of giving ourselves all the available tools to allow respondents to the request for proposals (RFP) for the Brayton Lot be as creative and flexible as possible?

Timeline

• October: Neighborhood Meeting
• November 13th: Plan Commission
• November 21st: Common Council

Background:

The Brayton Lot is in the heart of downtown Madison right off East Washington St (see interactive map). The Brayton Lot is:

·       The LAST remaining completely undeveloped land area in downtown Madison.

·       Directly on the BRT line.

·       Near thousands of jobs.

·       A short walk away (XXX miles) away from the Festival Foods Grocery store.

·       Across the street from a childcare center

·       Near a plethora of other core neighborhood and community amenities.

Truly, we could not have planned for a better city-owned site to place an affordable housing development. The placement of the Brayton Lot is significant because we know that its proximity to key resources will improve the health and quality of life outcomes of the residents that this development will serve. Why would we want to limit the availability of housing here of all places? If we cannot build more here, then where can we?

Well unfortunately, until recent years, housing people at this location has not been a priority of the city and the neighborhood. The Brayton Lot Development plan was created 30 years ago, and priorities of the site has shifted over the years from creating space to housing cars to creating opportunities to house people. The first development plan supported creating 1000 units of paring on the site. As of the 2018 Comprehensive Plan to develop a 10-story housing development on the East Washington St side and a 4-story redevelopment on the East Main St side.

Why should we do this?

1.     Increasing the availability of housing in high opportunity areas.

We need to put people where the opportunity is greatest. Last week, I had a conversation with Justice Castaneda, an expert in affordable housing, who said, “limiting this [Brayton Lot development] to only 4-stories is a waste” and “this site is screaming for density”. Moving from 4-stories to 10-stories on the Main St. side could create 100-125 additional homes, according to a conversation and review of the site’s massing with my previous affordable housing real estate professor. That is 100-125 children and families, seniors, and everyday working people that we could house with this simple change.

2.     Relieving pressure to build in historic districts.

The Brayton Lot is on the far edge of the First Settlement Neighborhood. As we saw with the Essen Haus, it is very difficult to development in the First Settlement Neighborhood, due to fears of losing “historic character” of the neighborhood. The beauty of the Brayton Lot is that it does not displace anyone. Nothing will be demolished or lost because of this development. Thus, a denser development here effectively alleviates some of the pressures for building in other areas of First Settlement Neighborhood, where tough decisions about displacement would need to be made.

Now, I recognize that some may have the view that a higher building in on this site may have a negative impact on the historic neighborhood. To folx that have this concern, I offer for you to walk directly across the street look at the Continental. This development is a 10-story building with a 6-story set down near the residential area. This development still feels like a 10-story building with the step down, but it does not really feel out-of-place, especially in its high traffic, high density area.

If you need more examples of high-density developments blocks away from this site, you can walk a few blocks further and check out the Constellation and St. John’s Church development. In context of other developments, a 10-story building near a historic neighborhood is not that daunting.

Conclusion:

Returning to the question from earlier, I hope that people will come away from this blog with the idea that we have nothing to lose and everything to gain with our proposed amendment. In a site of pure potential, why wouldn’t we want to decide among the many options that could be put forward should we remove artificial barriers? This amendment gives us choice.

Let us allay the fears of height.

Let us start a new cycle of fairness to give everyone access to our communities.  

Let us embrace the idea of a development that will stand the test of time.