The State Street Design Project Committee will work with two Madison engineering firms as it moves forward with plans to revitalize the Library Mall area.
The project is part of a larger plan to update State Street that has been underway since 2003, and the Library Mall area is one of the last segments to be renovated.
City officials will work with Madison engineering firms MSA Professional Services, which has done other State Street Projects, and SmithGroupJJR, which worked with the University of Wisconsin-Madison to design East Campus Mall.
The committee opted to work with local firms with whom they have worked in the past due to time constraints.
Chris Petykowski, a principal engineer for the city, said the city wants to sign a contract with MSA in the third week of March. He projected they will bid on a construction plan in January 2014 and construction will begin in middle to late March 2014.
Although project planning is in its early stages, Petykowski said they plan to replace the storm and sanitary water system under the mall, as some of the pipes have not been updated since 1882.
Throughout the planning process, the committee wants to make flexibility a priority so that the Library Mall can be used for a wider variety of activities in the future, according to Bill Fruhling, Principal Planner for the city.
“This is such an opportunity,” Fruhling said. “This needs to be a great space within the community.”
Petykowski said the city should consider the variety of stakeholders in the project including students, food-cart vendors, bicyclists, and people who live and worship in the area.
The project may require the city to coordinate with a potential construction project at St. Paul’s University Catholic Center, Petykowski added.
Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said he has collected feedback from members of St. Paul’s Catholic Church and people who live in Pres House, and he hopes to hold meetings in both locations to further discuss the issue.
Resnick said he is excited to see what will come of an area so many students utilize.
“We’re essentially working with a blank slate so we could see any vision come out here,” he said.
