Recent News
Still Collecting Signatures
Steering Committee members are still collecting signatures on our alternate guidelines for the Midvale Plaza redevelopment. We have over 720 signatures, with new ones coming in every day. We would like to get 1,000 before the Common Council meeting on July 18th.
Newsletter Update Distributed
Members of the Steering Committee recently distributed an update on their work to all households in Westmorland and much of Midvale Heights. The newsletter asks recipients to support a set of guidelines for the new Midvale Plaza that the committee believes is a reasonable compromise between what is being proposed by the developer and what many in the neighborhoods would like to see. If you received the newsletter and support the position outlined there, please sign the proposal on the back and return it to a steering committee member or the library. We want to collect as many signatures as we can before next Monday’s Madison Plan Commission meeting on June 19th. You can also sign the proposal on-line at www.midvaleplaza-openletter.org
The complete text of the newsletter will be available on the blog later today.
May 24 Urban Design Commission Meeting
At its May 24 the meeting, the Urban Design Commission voted unanimously to grant initial approval to the Midvale Plaza plans submitted by developer Joe Krupp and architect Bruce Simonson, despite the fact that several concerns raised by the Commission at its May 3 meeting remained unresolved.
Changes to the May 3 plan include a Tokay Blvd. entrance to the library in addition to the entrance on the parking lot. The architect also eliminated the set of doors leading from the retail shops to the parking lot, so that the entrances to the retail spaces will be on Midvale Blvd. This was requested by the UDC, citing security concerns with two entrances and a desire to have the streetscape be welcoming and attractive.
Joe Krupp also proposed possibly reducing the number of residential units in Phase II to 72 condos, rather than the 99 apartments currently on the table. The decision on condos vs. apartments would be made after seeing how well the condos in Phase I sell. If Phase II is constructed as apartments, Krupp proposed creating an entrance/exit onto Midvale Blvd for the Phase II underground garage. The UDC included the requirement that the Phase II ramp empty onto Midvale Blvd., even if condos are built in that phase.
The UDC continued to have concerns about the design of the project, focusing particularly on the need for the building housing the library to appear stately and look like a civic structure.
Initial approval from the UDC means that the developer can take the current plans to the Plan Commission for review. The Plan Commission’s review will include traffic issues as well as the desires of the neighborhood. The steering committee plans to prepare a presentation that will likely continue to request a reduction in density, detailed information on parking and traffic issues, appropriate design, and retail space issues.
Midvale Plaza Forum » Urban Design Comments Posted said,
May 31, 2006 at 2:27 pm
[...] Comments made by Steering Committee members at the May 24th Urban Design Commission meeting have been placed on the Presentations to the Urban Design Commission page. See also the news article on the meeting, posted at Recent News. [...]