The balance between historic buildings and new projects in downtown Madison came under discussion Wednesday night when city officials heard a proposal for a new student-oriented apartment complex slated for construction where three historic buildings currently stand.
Two buildings on North Henry Street as well as a building on Iota Court would be demolished to create space for a new, eight-story apartment complex catered to students.
According to Timothy Parks, a planner with the Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development, those three structures are historical.
“The new design of the project has to be exemplary … in order to support the removal of [the buildings],” Parks said.
The plan also includes a pedestrian walkway near the proposed apartment complex as well as a complete remodeling and an addition of two stories to the apartment building at 140 Iota Court.
Parks expressed concern about improving fire department access to buildings in the area under the proposal, which is still at an early stage. He said the proposed plan could improve on emergency vehicle access both to the new building and nearby structures on Langdon Street.
Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, said emergency vehicle access in that area is currently an issue due to poor road availability leading to those buildings.
She said the benefits of a project that can construct a more accessible road and improve safety for the property and adjacent buildings outweigh the cost of losing “older” structures.
However, Maniaci also said residents “really appreciate that older characteristic to the neighborhood.”
Earlier this year, a similar debate over replacing historical buildings with new structures centered on State Street redevelopments when city officials weighed preserving historically significant buildings on the 100 block against replacing them with commercial and office spaces.
The city ultimately approved the Block 100 Foundation’s proposal after a compromise between the city and project developers W. Jerome Frautschi and Pleasant Rowland that no longer included demolishing certain historic buildings.
