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Villager mall tenants given assurances

Pat Schneider  —  5/21/2008 6:17 pm

Tenants of the Villager, the worn-out 1960s shopping mall slated for redevelopment on the city's south side, were assured by a growing panel of city-hired consultants Wednesday that every attempt will be made to smooth the process.

Communication between tenants and the construction team will be key. To that end, the first of what are viewed as monthly "brown bag" lunches was held Wednesday for discussion of redevelopment plans and how they will affect Villager tenants and their customers and clients.

The city of Madison's Community Development Authority in 2005 spent $10 million to buy the shopping mall in the 2300 block of South Park Street. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz budgeted $9 million this year for the first phase of redevelopment, including the mall atrium.

Details are sketchy as of yet, but the atrium redevelopment likely will mean reconfigured spaces -- and at least one internal relocation -- for many of the mall's human services tenants that serve the surrounding low-income neighborhood.

"Our credo is 'no surprises,'" Rod Mayer of Siegel-Gallagher Construction told the group of tenant representatives. "You may not like what's happening, but we're hoping there are no surprises."

No construction start date has yet been set.

To foster communication, the Villager development team is opening a "studio" in vacant space in the mall to display final redevelopment plans as they take shape. Also available are two Websites: www.thevillager.info, which details operations rights and responsibilities of Villager tenants, and for information on the redevelopment plans: www.ci.madison.wi.us/planning/villager/index.html.

Members of the redevelopment team include the CDA, Strang Architects, the Bower Group, and an as-yet unselected construction management firm.

Information on changes in locations, building entrances and parking regulations should be available not only in English, but in Spanish and Hmong, said Maria Banuelos, MATC associate vice president.

MATC officials are pleased at the prospect of all their classes and programs at Villager being in adjacent spaces, rather than scattered as they now are, Banuelos said of the satellite campus that serves more than 1,000 students a year.

MATC also is seeking more space at the mall, to accommodate a growing roster of "career ladder" programs that prepare students for employment after a few courses, Banuelos said.

Lori Kay, director of community partnerships in the Office of the Chancellor at UW-Madison, said the university is taking a wait and see attitude about the redevelopment and its impact of UW Extension and other programs at the Villager.

Pat Schneider  —  5/21/2008 6:17 pm