Sunday, February 14, 2021

800 Block project revisited: Love notes to the temporarily shuttered Sylvee



Photos by Retiring Guy




Matt Gerding, president of FPC Live, which operates The Sylvee, a 2,500-seat music venue on the Near East Side and multiple venues in Madison and other states, said the time to prepare is now. 
“Moving forward, having the option of scheduling safe, low-capacity programming would give us a chance to execute safe operational plans and increase customer confidence while we begin to turn back on the live entertainment industry,” he said. 
Madison and Dane County officials voice sympathy for affected businesses, but insist that rules are based on science with the intent of controlling the virus, easing pressure on hospitals and minimizing deaths.


10/28/2018 update starts here.

Photos by Retiring Guy


9/26/2018 update, "Sylvee now open for business, mostly standing-room only", starts here.

Photos by Retiring Guy

Sylvee to see standing ovation Thursday night; there's no other option.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 9/23/2018)
“Madison did not have a need for a 2,500-capacity seated venue. the Overture and Orpheum more than adequately service the market for that, but it doesn’t have the 2,500-capacity GA (general admission) music hall,” said Leslie, the former co-owner of Majestic Live which in 2017 joined with Frank Productions to form FPC Live. 
The $15 million Sylvee has 158 fixed seats on its second level. There’s also a third level with six private suites, similar to what’s available at the Kohl Center.



7/20/2018 update, "StartingBlock, the final shots ", starts here.

Photos by Retiring Guy


StartingBlock off to the races building 'community of support' for entrepreneurs.  (Madison.com, 6/27/2018)
More than five years after a group of local entrepreneurs hatched the idea, a hub for startups in the heart of Downtown Madison hosted an invite-only “soft opening” Tuesday night and has already rented out a good chunk of its 50,000-plus square feet of space. 
StartingBlock occupies three stories of the eight-story office building dubbed “Spark,” now undergoing final construction in the 800 block of East Washington Avenue. American Family Insurance will be the building’s other tenant. 


6/24/2018 update, "StartingBlock looms over quonset huts and brightly painted wall", starts here.

Photos by Retiring Guy


StartingBlock soft opening is June 26, 2018.  (StartingBlock Madison)


6/4/2018 update, "Opening in June?", starts here.

We'll see.

Photos by Retiring Guy


5/14/2018 update, ' Featuring the Sylvee', starts here.

StartingBlock building at right
All photos by Retiring Guy

StartingBlock announces first occupants.  (Madison.com, 5/5/2018)
They include ArchVirtual, a virtual reality services company currently in Oregon, Wisconsin; ImageMoverMD, with technology that provides a secure way to transmit medical images electronically; and bluDiagnostics, with a saliva test to measure a woman's fertility. 
Other startups that have signed contracts so far are: Bump Studios, a video game developer; LineLeap, a way to bypass long ticket lines: Markable, a fashion product app; Rebate Bus, which simplifies energy utility rebates; Wolf Flow, desktop workflow management software; hankr, with high-quality restaurant food photos; Flourish, for improving employee engagement; and Kilter, offering employee wellness programs.





Frank Productions unveils plans for concert venue dedicated to Sylvia 'Sylvee' Frank.  (Capital Times, 1/26/2017)
The 2,500-person capacity venue is a part of the 800 Block Project, which consists of two buildings and a 600-stall parking structure at East Main and South Livingston streets. The theater will be located in the $12 million, eight-story Cosmos building along with retail and office space.

"Sylvie" appears on the 1971 album Later That Same Year by Matthews Southern Comfort, which debuted on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart for the week ending April 17, 1971.  It spent 15 weeks on the chart, peaking at #75.  The album includes a cover of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock", which spent 16 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 during the spring and early summer of 1971, peaking at #22.




4/10/2018 update, " Gotta lotta views today", starts here.

View of the increasingly towering East Washington corridor from East Main and South Paterson


From East Main between South Livingston and South Paterson


Starting Block looms over intersection of East Main and South Livington

A better view of the west side of Starting Block construction

From East Washington and Paterson.


From South Paterson between East Washington and East Main


3/9/2018 update starts here.

East Washington and South Livingston
Photos by Retiring Guy


East Main and South Livingston


1/30/2018 update, " StartingBlock construction as we approach the end of January", starts here.

On the Capitol side of the intersection of East Washington and Livingston

Photos by Retiring Guy

Filling up the frame at South Livingston and East Main



The stop sign is at the intersection of East Main and South Livingston






Video by Retiring Guy

11/21/2017 update starts here.

The first 2 views are from East Washington



Near the intersection of East Main and South Livingston



10/26/2017 update, "Starting Block Madison development bulking up", starts here.

At the intersection of East Main and South Livingston


About a block south of the above location



8/31/2017 update, "Starting Block Madison development begins to take shape", starts here.

At the intersection of East Main and South Livingston

 Photos by Retiring Guy



Madison startup center StartingBlock announces search for leadership.  (Capital Times, 5/12/2017)

Starting Block Madison

7/12/2017 update, "A little more to see at the Starting Block Madison construction site on East Washington Avenue", starts here.

Photo by Retiring Guy


Original 5/14/2017 post, "The 800 Block Project gets underway on East Washington Avenue in Madison WI", starts here.

Near the intersection of East Main and South Livingston, with the Constellation (left) and Galaxie (right) in the distance.


On South Livingston between East Washington and East Main.

Photos by Retiring Guy



Reported in Cosmos, Spark developments on East Wash receives crucial land use permits.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 12/132016).  Rendering from same source.

Related posts:
UPDATE. The Lyric Apartments are ready for occupancy.  (8/30/2017)
This stretch of East Washington Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin, has undergone a major transformation during the past 5 years.  (5/13/2017)
Madison East Washington Festival Foods is open for business.  (4/13/2016)
The balconies of the Constellation.  (4/19/2015)
The Constellation rises above the treetops.  (9/7/2014)

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