Madison WI east side housing project scaled down, receives plan commission approval

 

The project has been scaled down from the original 445 apartments in a cluster of 4 buildings ranging in height from 3 to 6 stories.  (See rendering in 10/23/2022 update.)

Photo by Retiring Guy

A developer won major city approvals on Monday to demolish the historic Filene House near Tenney Park for a one- to five-story housing project with 331 units on the 1600 block of Sherman Avenue on Madison’s East Side. 

The city’s Plan Commission voted unanimously to approve Vermilion Development of Chicago’s demolition of the two-story, 47,000-square-foot Filene House, 1617 Sherman Ave., the first permanent location of the Credit Union National Association and dedicated by President Harry Truman in a speech that placed the credit union movement as a key component of the administration’s foreign policy. 

But the commission required historical documentation of the property to the standards of the Wisconsin Historical Society

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10/23/2022 update, "Proposed $90 million, 455-unit housing project on Sherman Avenue in Madison WI receives decidedly cold shoulder", starts here.

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Headline and rendering:  Wisconsin State Journal, 10/26/2022)

The project would raze a two-story office building at 1617 Sherman Ave. to make way for 445 market-rate apartments that would offer many tenants a view of the Isthmus and Lake Mendota. 

But commission member Christian Harper called the development’s design “so in your face” that it was a “non-starter” for approval.

10/23/2022 update, "October 2022 site visit", starts here.

Photos and video by Retiring Guy

Original 10/11/2022 update starts here.

Sources:  Madison Trust for Historic Preservation

loopnet, Wisconsin State Journal (+ headline, excerpt)

Vermilion Development of Chicago is seeking to demolish a two-story, 46,952-square-foot office building at 1617 Sherman Ave. for the redevelopment that would offer four buildings ranging from three to six stories, the latter height to capture views of the lake and state Capitol. 

The proposal responds to the city’s desire for more infill housing and redeveloping existing properties, and the East Side site is attractive due to its proximity to the lake, Tenney Park, bike paths and public transit, Vermilion Managing Director Darrin Jolas said.

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