tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-814101387107518018.post6381981805893745033..comments2023-05-27T02:01:49.291-05:00Comments on BETWEEN TWO LAKES: Tenney Lapham Neighbors Still Want Smart DevelopmentJessica Beckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06481625465677318015noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-814101387107518018.post-69806031519272867452014-10-16T18:18:40.456-05:002014-10-16T18:18:40.456-05:00Richard,
Right for the neighborhood is a matter of...Richard,<br />Right for the neighborhood is a matter of opinion. So far the treatment of the neighborhood by the Frank's doesn't jive with being right for the neighborhood. Starting with the breaking of the news prior to meeting with the neighborhood, and more recently the treatment of our neighbors at the latest steering committee meeting. There is a lack of respect on their part. No amount of research can change that.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11753546451279371972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-814101387107518018.post-79573874906940907952014-10-16T10:28:44.632-05:002014-10-16T10:28:44.632-05:00Richard:
Did you read the neighborhood plan, beca...Richard:<br /><br />Did you read the neighborhood plan, because it seems to me that this music venue is not a fit with the neighborhood plan. It's a big box, in the sense that the design looks inspired by a 1980's Walmart store. <br /><br />Stonehouse is defending the nature of this project on all the positives which is fair and those things are positive, but the music venue is a total outlier here in that it is not a need of the neighborhood. It will have a huge negative impact for the neighborhood both in terms of traffic and in terms of loud late-night activity. <br /><br />Also, as far as I can tell, there is no significant support from anyone who lives near the venue. The only support for this stems out of support for affordable housing. If there is going to be a MOU between the neighborhood association, it should be laid out sooner than later, and it should include something along the following:<br /><br />- free parking in the lot for any show with pre-sales above 600 people, so that the incentive is for people to park in the lot and not in the street.<br />- an absolute cap of 1200 people for 97 percent of events at the venue.<br />- maximum of two shows a year with a capacity of 2000 people. <br />- restricted parking for any venue usage. <br />- free usage by the school for events<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06276207027739716505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-814101387107518018.post-35286608714374741742014-10-15T20:39:28.058-05:002014-10-15T20:39:28.058-05:00Thank you, Rich, for reading. I have been doing a ...Thank you, Rich, for reading. I have been doing a lot of research, as you can tell, and my understanding continues to evolve.<br /><br />I truly love living and raising my kids in an urban, historic place. I am excited about changes that will bring vitality to my neighborhood.<br /><br />At the meeting on Monday evening with the Steering Committee, your passion for this project was clear. I respect that you believe in it, and appreciate that. Again, thanks for your comment, and for continuing to listen to the neighborhood's concerns.Jessica Beckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06481625465677318015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-814101387107518018.post-24840476222109577542014-10-15T15:02:31.104-05:002014-10-15T15:02:31.104-05:00Jessica,
Thank you for your additional comments a...Jessica,<br /><br />Thank you for your additional comments and for attending the steering committee meeting. I apologize if you didn't hear it but the first thing I did when I started my presentation was thank the steering committee. In addition, at the end of the meeting all the presenters thanked everyone in attendance. This is not our first time working with the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood and we all appreciate the time and commitment that it takes to attend these meetings. A couple comments on your post:<br /><br />- No one implied that the neighborhood was blighted. We were specifically referring to the Madison Dairy site, which, except for the CarX property, is the very definition of blight. The buildings and grounds are vacant and deteriorating and they remain dark and "unactivated" 24/7.<br /><br />Thank you for mentioning the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood plan. As you point out, our project fits nicely into the goals for the 1000 block:<br /><br />- By providing much needed high quality affordable housing, we will further the goal to “maintain a diverse population, a variety of housing opportunities, and a high quality of living for all of its residents” which is, as you point out, stated right in the introduction to the plan. I am sure that it will not be news to point out that housing opportunities for low to moderate income individuals are getting fewer and fewer. The last affordable housing developments on the isthmus were our City Row and Park Central projects. Between these two, we have over 1,000 people on waiting lists - people that want to live on the isthmus, in your neighborhood, that cannot afford to.<br /><br />- Our façade height on Mifflin is 3 stories and we comply with the 30 degree stepback requirement for the 4th floor.<br /><br />- We are incorporating step-backs into the housing and into the office venue as desired in the plan.<br /><br />-Our housing will be “row-style” housing. Ground floor apartments on Mifflin St. will have private entrances and porches, similar to both Park Central and City Row.<br /><br />- We are not proposing “big box retail”.<br /><br /> - By maintaining the 3 story façade on Mifflin, we are respecting the scale of the surrounding neighborhood. The proposed buildings on E. Washington are also consistent with the adopted plans.<br /><br />- By incorporating a 2-way alley behind the housing, we will “accommodate delivery trucks” and “keep commercial truck traffic off of Mifflin Street” as is stated in the plan.<br /><br />Finally, I am glad you had a chance to meet and talk to the Franks. They are a family-owned business that has been in Madison for over 40 years. They have an outstanding reputation in the industry as well as with the City of Madison and the police department. They know how to run a venue like this so that it will be an asset to the neighborhood and to the city for years to come. In fact, as presented at the meeting, we are already working on a “memorandum of understanding” wherein the Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood can work together with the Franks and Stone House Development to address any issues that may arise from the operations and management of the music hall. The MOU would include details about how the music venue would serve the needs of neighborhood organizations, including the school, to support community events and music programs. <br /><br />I think if you take the time to do your own research, you will find that the Franks are indeed the “right company for your neighborhood”.<br /><br />- Stone House Development<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05056018377054252844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-814101387107518018.post-8413639841378833202014-10-15T12:54:53.851-05:002014-10-15T12:54:53.851-05:00Thanks Nick. There is a lot to digest here, I agre...Thanks Nick. There is a lot to digest here, I agree, and this all has huge consequences. I brought up property values at that meeting, which made folks uncomfortable. I understand; it was hard for me to say. But I think we need to proceed as thoughtfully as possible, so put it all on the table. Details matter.Jessica Beckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06481625465677318015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-814101387107518018.post-4815959239825418152014-10-15T10:09:28.299-05:002014-10-15T10:09:28.299-05:00One thing that stuck out for me at the Tuesday nig...One thing that stuck out for me at the Tuesday night meeting was the lack of attention to detail. I am still digesting the meeting. <br />We have been stuck on parking and traffic as root causes, but those issues are a symptom of Stonehouse's lack of attention to detail. They don't understand that their development is going to wipe out all parking on the 10 block of N. Ingersoll and that this dramatically affects their would be neighbors across the street who have no other parking options. Small detail but big affect for the neighborhood.<br />Their traffic study was touted as a worst case scenario, but showed available parking in areas that are no parking zones.<br />What happens on Thursdays and Fridays on the Isthmus from May 15th to November 15? No parking on one side of the street. from 8:00 am to 1200 pm. That dramatically affects parking for residents of the neighborhood, and will affect parking during the events. Was that taken into account?<br />What happens to available parking spaces in February when our streets are three or four feet narrower because of snow? Are patrons going to walk a mile to the show when it is -10°F with the wind chill?<br />Details, those silly little things.<br />John Lichtenheld said they needed 365 parking spaces for a typical concert and 760ish for a capacity concert; the numbers make sense to me. Frank should be held to provide adequate onsite parking for the average show. Don't push the liability and responsibility of the venue patrons onto the neighborhood and other nearby land owners.<br />Frank Productions has already increased the high end estimated number of shows per year by 25%. Can we trust that once the venue is built they won't increase it even more?<br />Justifying the traffic increase by comparing it to a 3 day summer neighborhood festival on the south side of E. Washington is not a valid argument. The impact on the north side of the street is minimal because there is ample parking on the south side, because it is summer and people like biking and walking. Move La fete de marquette to Reynolds park and let's see how things work out in the neighborhood.<br />Like I said, I am still digesting, but my gut is telling me Stonehouse is the wrong developer for this project; it also says Frank Productions picked the wrong site.<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11753546451279371972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-814101387107518018.post-9739164196723070222014-10-15T09:15:00.002-05:002014-10-15T09:15:00.002-05:00Thank you, Jesse. The UDC meeting on Wednesday thi...Thank you, Jesse. The UDC meeting on Wednesday this week is a chance for the development proposal to be presented, but no decision will be sought or made. They say they'll aim for approval for the UDC in November. Thanks for this point of clarification!Jessica Beckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06481625465677318015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-814101387107518018.post-11912868550480729852014-10-14T22:02:39.338-05:002014-10-14T22:02:39.338-05:00The Urban Design Commission meeting is actually to...The Urban Design Commission meeting is actually tomorrow. Wed Oct 15th at 4:30. 215 MLK BLVD.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12449727793841250301noreply@blogger.com