Replacing the 102 unit 4 story lodging house with 128 units of student housing and a new building with 70 units for unhoused persons.
In a real estate switcheroo, Porchlight negotiated with a developer (LZ Ventures) who has had their eye on 306 N Brooks Street for some time to trade their building for a brand new building at 521 E Washington Ave.
306 N BROOKS
The property at 306 N Brooks Street has 103 units on city city assessors website, when subtracting unit 100, there were 102 units of housing. The City of Madison staff comments for the demolition say there are 87 single room occupancy rooms (SROs) and 15 efficiency units). But they stopped taking applications for housing last December.
I believe they are stopped taking applications because they know that when they move, they won’t have enough units for everyone.
Sidenote: 306 N Brooks is being demolished despite the “survey conducted in 2019 called the “Wisconsin Underrepresented Communities Historic Resource Survey Report” which highlighted 306 N. Brooks Street as the Women’s Center of the University YMCA from the 1970’s-1990’s and housing the Lesbian Switchboard beginning in 1974. Other possibly significant events in this building include the Teachers Assistance Association office.”
521 E WASHINGTON
The new 8 story project at 521 E Washington will only have 70 units.
There is more to say about this project, but we’ll save that for another time. I drive by it every day and they are on about level 3 in the new construction.
LOSS OF 32 UNITS
I shouldn’t say loss of 32 units. It is a loss of places that 32 humans could live indoors instead of being unhoused. I know there are all kinds of factors at play, but if you’re doing the math with me . . . .
- 8 Porchlight SRO (Single Room Occupancy) units
- 11 – 15 Tellurian SRO units
- 32 Porchlight units (87 single room occupancy rooms (SROs) and 15 efficiency units)
I hate doing math in public, but that looks like 43-47 less places for humans to sleep at night that isn’t outside or in a homeless shelter.
Stay tuned for at least two more posts this week . . . .