Members of the City Council discussed the building of a 12-story student apartment building and increased parking on Capitol Square Wednesday evening at the City-County Building, 210 Martin Luther King Blvd.
Five homes on West Gorham Street will be removed before construction of the apartment building can begin this summer.
\The restoration of these five homes was offered by the developers of this project who are trying to work with the neighborhood,"" said Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4.
Everything possible will be used and recycled in an effort to restore these homes, and at least two of them will be moved, one to Paterson Street and the other to Doty Street, he added. The residents of these five homes have been offered an incentive to move out this spring in order to break ground early this summer, Verveer said.
""This building is under a 14-month construction plan, and we are shooting to be ready for occupancy in August 2006,"" he added.
""The Equinox student project will be the first to offer the option of inclusionary zoning for students with challenged financial status, which makes this the guinea pig of IZ units being offered to UW-Madison students,"" Verveer said.
Inclusionary zoning units have been in effect for about a year. They allow a certain percentage of housing units to be set aside as ""affordable"" in Madison, Verveer said.
After examining their parents' income, students who are claimed as dependents on their parents' tax returns will be considered for IZ units, Ald. Steve Holtzman, District 19, added.
This project is not only architecturally unique, but will further stabilize rent in downtown Madison, said Ald. Austin King, District 8.
Verveer, who is impressed with the design of the Palisades Apartments on East Johnson, feels that this design for West Gorham will top the Palisades. This 115-unit apartment building gives the illusion of a nine-story building, because the other three stories are located behind the building.
The proposal to bring 27 additional parking spots to Capitol Square was also approved, causing a high level of excitement among the City Council. ""It may not seem like a lot of stalls, but it will serve the businesses and hopefully increase diversity among Capitol Square,"" Verveer said.
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said more parking has been a goal for 30 years and will hopefully result in a more vibrant Capitol Square.
The Mid-State Street Parking ramp received conceptual approval last night and needs to go through a series of more approvals, Verveer said.
