Based on the number of phone calls and emails I have been receiving, it has become extremely apparent how disappointed the neighbors, the business community and nearly anyone and everyone connected to the East side or the City of Madison is over the demise of the Gorman Project on the 800 block of East Washington. That project held the hope to spur development in the East Washington corridor and be the generator to start the TIF district set up to help economic development and particularly employment in the area. Among other things, it was important to add housing to help the enrollment in the downtown schools, prevent sprawl, etc etc. The failure to reach agreement on the financing of the project has set back economic development in this area for years and seems premature. My thoughts about this project have not changed, we do need to protect city tax dollars, but we need this project. There are enough creative people in the City to make this happen . . . we need Gorman and the City to get back to the table and figure this out.
p.s. In order to get the discussion going, I’m introducing a resolution designed to bring people back to the table, and if all else fails, to allow the entire council vote on this very important project, not just the Board of Estimates. This should be at the Board of Estimates meeting on the 13th of March and come back to the Council on March 21st.
(Additional links will be added tomorrow, when the file is ready in Legistar.)
