With many students looking for housing for the 2024-25 academic year due to high demand in residential areas, several developers have brought projects to the Madison area in attempts to relieve the ongoing housing shortage.
Among these developers is Core Spaces, a Chicago-based development company that previously built The James and Hub Madison, two large housing options located near downtown Madison. The company continues to have a sizable involvement in Madison’s residential sector and has several projects proposed or under development, including Oliv, Johnson & Broom, and Johnson & Bassett.
Other developers include CRG Residential, Subtext and Trinitas Ventures.
Here are six projects currently planned or under construction near the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
Oliv Apartments
Oliv, located on West Gorham Street, used their location near State Street and the campus area to market a “modern expression of Midwestern hospitality” for students, according to their website. Oliv was proposed and approved by the Common Council in December 2021 as a 10-story apartment building with 386 units and over 23,000 square feet of additional space for retailers.
Although the project, which costs more than $100 million, set prices above the median apartment price of $1,348 for the 2024-25 lease term, zoning negotiations with the Common Council resulted in the creation of more than 100 affordable housing units for students approved through the UW-Madison Office of Financial Aid.
Oliv is taking residents for the 2024-25 lease term and is currently building out its first floor retail space. The space, if approved, would hold a nightclub and two restaurants for residents and the Madison community.
Johnson & Broom
Johnson & Broom, another Core Spaces development, is a proposed four-tower apartment complex in downtown Madison that would offer housing to over 1,600 students in coming years.
Since the apartments would exceed the city’s height limit, Johnson & Broom made an amendment to the proposal that includes a 40% discount to 10% of the units in exchange for the city allowing it to build higher. This discount would be afforded to students on the same basis as the Oliv apartments through the UW-Madison’s agreement with Core Spaces and the city.
The Madison Plan Commission unanimously approved the proposal on Nov. 13 and needs final approval from the Common Council before beginning construction, which they hope to start in fall 2024.
Johnson & Bassett
Just a block away from the proposed Johnson & Broom apartments, Core Spaces proposed another high rise on Bassett Street that would hold 232 units.
Core Spaces first proposed Johnson & Bassett in June. The Madison Common Council initially rejected the project, with some council members citing the development’s lack of affordable units as a reason for the decision.
However, the council reversed its decision less than a month later in a 17-2 vote based on legal uncertainties surrounding the original decision. State law forbids the denial of rezoning based on affordability, meaning the city could face a lawsuit from Core Spaces if it rejected the project.
Johnson & Bassett includes the demolition of 10 current housing properties and newly constructing the high rise, which Core Spaces hopes to start in this summer with an estimated completion in time for the 2026-27 academic year.
VERVE Madison
VERVE sits two blocks from UW-Madison’s campus and can house up to 536 students.
Brandt Stiles, CEO of VERVE developer Subtext, said Madison’s housing shortage and high enrollment rates presented their company with the opportunity to bring the brand to the city.
VERVE broke ground in November of 2022 and began leasing for the 2024-25 lease term.
Chapter at Madison
Chapter at Madison is ushering in high-rise development in the South Campus housing community with 172 new units between Park and Regent Streets.
The Greenbush and nearby neighborhoods have recently seen an influx of student renters as a result of rising demand, which originally brought concerns the new apartment building would not preserve the neighborhood’s history of immigration and urban renewal.
Chapter at Madison vowed to honor the historical importance of the community when building the 10-story complex, according to their website.
Chapter at Madison broke ground in the winter of 2022 and plans to finish building in time for the 2024-25 lease term.
Atmosphere Madison
Tucked behind the Kohl Center, Atmosphere Madison will include 363 apartments on Regent Street for students in the 2024-25 year. The 12-story apartment began construction in 2022.
Atmosphere Madison cited their amenities and location as reasons for their luxury apartment price tag, which ranges from $1,350 in a five-bedroom apartment to almost $2,000 in a one-bedroom unit.
