Madison Department of Planning, Community, and Economic Development
South Transfer Point Aerial
The south-side bus transfer point, now proposed for redevelopment, is still used by some buses but the recent redesign of the city’s bus system otherwise eliminated the use of transfer points.
Another large redevelopment project is being proposed for South Madison.
The Madison Community Development Authority has presented conceptual plans to the neighborhood for the redevelopment of the bus transfer point at the intersection of South Park Street and West Badger Road. Two or three new buildings of five to eight stories could provide a new home for Public Health Madison and Dane County and the city’s Fire Station #6, as well as hundreds of potential new income-restricted apartments.
The neighborhood had a chance to see the plans at two meetings on July 19; residents asked about the project’s height, timeline, sustainability features and green space, among other things. Matt Wachter, director of the Department of Planning, Community and Economic Development, says the city will be holding another meeting in the fall to help determine the choice of a development partner. “We will be going back to the community to get more focused feedback on what should go into that [request for proposals],” Wachter tells Isthmus.
The CDA also emphasized early feedback in its redevelopment of the Triangle on Park Street, and developer New Year Investments has been able to incorporate the priorities of current residents into the plans for new buildings.
“Because this is a city-led project, we have the ability to bake a lot of that into the project from the start,” says Wachter of the South Transfer Point project.
The development site currently houses Centro Hispano and the city’s South District Police Station. Centro Hispano is planning to build its new headquarters on an adjacent lot; the relocation of the police station would only be considered in a second phase of development. Some buses still use the South Transfer Point as a stop as they travel along Park Street and Badger Road, but a June redesign of the city’s bus system otherwise eliminated the use of transfer points.
The CDA unveiled its vision for the project at a July 13 meeting of the CDA board. In the CDA’s proposal, public agencies would operate in the lower levels of two or three buildings on the site, while the units above would be apartments with varying levels of affordability owned by the CDA.
“Affordable housing is definitely one of the top goals of this redevelopment,” planner Jeff Greger said at the meeting. “One of the overarching things we heard from the community when we were working on the South Madison Plan was anti-gentrification, anti-displacement [and] the need for affordable housing in South Madison.”
The project would add significantly to the CDA’s portfolio of about 900 units it currently manages. “The idea really is for the CDA to be the master developer for this and the property owner in the long run,” said housing development specialist Dan Johns.
That was a sticking point when the city approached McDonald’s, which owns a site next to the redevelopment, about including their property in the plans. McDonald’s corporate office requires that the company select the developer when one of their locations is being redeveloped, said Wachter. Overtures to include the property in project plans will continue.
Board members differed on how tall they wanted the CDA to build on the site. Ald. Tag Evers would like to see the project built to eight stories, while Ald. Isadore Knox, whose district includes the proposed project, said that might not be universally welcomed. “We don’t want high rises all up Park Street,” said Knox. “I think it’s gonna take some convincing.”
Though the buildings have not been designed and the pictures presented were only conceptual, Knox was right about a dense, boxy initial rendering not being particularly popular at the July 19 community meetings; neighbors expressed a desire for a more pedestrian-friendly, open design with more green space while acknowledging the need for more affordable housing.
“I think we need to do more for these people who are already living with less,” Cindy McCallum, who lives in the nearby Bay Creek neighborhood, said at the meeting. “I think we need to give them a better environment to live in.”
