Kenosha-based developer Bear Real Estate Group is looking to build an affordable housing development just five blocks from the Capitol.
The proposed seven-story development will be 223 units, including 12 studios, 184 one-bedrooms and 27 two-bedrooms, along with 68 parking spots in a lower-level garage. Construction is expected to begin by late 2025 or early 2026, with completion targeted for 2027.
Developers plan to demolish the current building on the lot, located on 501 East Washington Ave., which has been occupied by the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) since the 1980s. WMC will relocate to 2 Buttonwood Court, more than seven miles away from its current location on Washington Avenue.
The planned apartments will be rent- and income-restricted, meaning the rent will be based on a percentage of a tenant’s income. Units will be reserved for tenants earning 50 to 80% of the area’s median income, District 6 Ald. Marsha Rummel told The Daily Cardinal.
Madison’s rent prices increased 14% in 2023 and another 15% in 2024. The city has one of the lowest rental vacancy rates in the country, increasing demand for housing. At the same time, the city’s downtown area has seen the growth of “luxury” housing developments, which are often difficult for low-income residents to afford.
Rummel said she hopes the new development will help residents in the city not have to “worry about making rent each month.”
Bear Real Estate’s Vice President of Development Adam Templer told The Daily Cardinal the company has built over 4,000 affordable housing units in the last 15 years across five states.
The company’s most recent Madison development is The Flats at 402 on West Wilson Street, with a one-bedroom apartment starting at $1102, more than $400 below the Madison average.
Templer said they are in the early stages of this project and will hold public meetings for feedback. They are also developing The Intersect at 808 Melvin Ct. targeted for launch in spring 2026.
The new building on Washington Ave. will face South Blair and South Franklin streets. It will also be on Madison’s Bus Rapid Transit Route A, which runs from the far west side of Madison to Sun Prairie.
This article was updated at 1:08pm., March 12, 2025, to include the developer’s comment.
