Madison Mayor Paul Soglin released details on the public funding for the downtown Judge Doyle Square project, saying the city’s investment represents 25 percent of the total development costs.
The Judge Doyle Square project, a proposed plan to renovate the area between the 200 block of South Pinckney Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard, aims to replace older buildings with a new hotel and an office building for the bioscience company Exact Sciences. The project also includes plans for a parking garage and retail space.
Soglin said $46.7 million of the $180 million plan is publicly funded. A large portion of the public money for the project comes from the Tax Incremental District No. 25 property tax, according to a report released by Soglin.
As part of the deal with Exact Sciences, the company must create 300 jobs upon the office building’s opening and 400 total jobs by 2019. If it fails to meet these requirements, Exact Sciences must pay $30,000 for each job it fails to create.
Exact Sciences is projected to employ 650 people by 2023, according to Soglin’s report.
In a Tuesday press conference, Soglin said base salaries for the jobs are $28,000 and opportunities include benefits, life insurance and a 401k match from the company.
Soglin praised the jobs Exact Sciences will create.
“These are great, sustainable, more than living wage jobs,” he said.
The 216-room hotel must begin construction within 18 months of May 2017 to avoid losing its contract to another developer.
The project is expected to pay the $46.7 million back in 20 to 25 years, provided a new tax district plan is in place after the current one expires in 2023.
The Common Council will debate and vote on the proposal during a special session Tuesday.
