By all accounts, the vote is very, very close. People are predicting they only have 14 of 15 needed votes.
Sounds like there are some alders advocating for a different location or for the shelter to stay at First Street. In short, its complicated. Some want to rush forward because we have a location and starting over will delay and cause other issues for the city. Others just don’t want the men’s shelter in their back yard. Others do? Interesting factors at play.
ACTION ALERT
Here’s an action alert written by someone else with all the details for tonight:
I am writing to remind you that Tuesday, May 4th the City Council meets and on their agenda is the vote for approval of purchase of 2002 Zeier Rd. to serve as a new men’s shelter. The Council meeting will be held virtually and starts at 6:30. The vote for Zeier Rd. is #69 on the agenda.
There are a number of ways that you can take Advocacy Action on this item:
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- Email your Alder to let them know how you feel. If you aren’t sure who your Alder is, find them here. You will be able to access their email at that link too.
- Submit written comments to: allalders@cityofmadison.com As the address implies, that will go to all Alders.
- You can register in support or opposition of agenda items, but do not have to speak. You do that here: https://www.cityofmadison.com/MeetingRegistrationRemember that Zeier Rd. is agenda item #69.
- You can register to speak or to answer questions. If you wish to speak at the virtual meeting, you must register. You can register athttps://www.cityofmadison.com/MeetingRegistration . When you register to speak, you will be sent an email with the information you will need to join the virtual meeting.
If you would like more information on the men’s shelter, you can find the slides from Linette’s HSC Membership Meeting presentation here.
Please reach out if you have any questions about this Advocacy Alert. As you can see there are numerous ways to make your voice heard. Taking part in any of the ways will make a difference.
Here’s another one, hot off the presses
- Speak at the meeting in favor of the purchase. To speak you need to register in advance at: https://www.
cityofmadison.com/ MeetingRegistration Register to speak on agenda item #69. When you register to speak, you will be sent an email with the information you will need to join the virtual meeting. - Register in support if you don’t want to or can’t speak at the meeting, you can register at: https://www.
cityofmadison.com/ MeetingRegistration Register in support of item #69 - Email all the alders at: allalders@cityofmadison.com
CITY MEMO ON CHOICES
TO: All Alders
FROM: Matt Wachter – Director, Planning, Community, and Economic Development
SUBJECT: Men’s Emergency Homeless Shelter
DATE: April 30, 2021
At the Common Council meeting of March 30, Legistar Item 11716 – Men’s Shelter Site was referred to the Common Council meeting of May 4 with a request from Alder Abbas for staff to explore the possibility of acquiring property located on Pennsylvania Avenue as an alternative. Additionally, there have been questions from alders regarding the possibility of having the shelter stay at its current temporary location at the corner of First and Johnson Street in the former Fleet Services building. The purpose of this memo is to explain where each of these options stand today.
Background
2002 Zeier Road
The City of Madison currently has a negotiated letter of intent for the purchase 2002 Zeier Road, a vacant big box store, covering all of the terms and conditions of the sale. City Engineering conducted a Request for Proposals process to engage an architect and engineering team. If the Common Council approves this purchase on May 4, staff will immediately move to complete the acquisition of the property and begin work with the architect and engineering team to design the renovation, after which we would bid and renovate the building. It is anticipated that the project will be completed at the end of 2022.
Pennsylvania Ave Properties
There are a series of office, warehouse, and light industrial buildings along Pennsylvania Ave. which the Owner plans to sell when they move to their new facility in late 2021/early 2022. The portfolio represents ten parcels on nearly 16 acres of land with roughly 200,000 square feet of buildings. The portfolio is assessed at $12.7 million dollars. The Owner has indicated a strong preference to sell the portfolio as an assemblage rather than parcel by parcel. Any acquisition by the City of Madison would require an appraisal as well as environmental investigation given its proximity to rail lines and history of industrial type uses. Given the high level of uncertainty and complexity in this acquisition it is difficult to predict if or when the City would be able to close on a property and renovate/construct a permanent shelter. However given the need to negotiate a transaction, conduct due diligence, rezone the property, restart the design process, and construct it is unlikely a permanent shelter could be completed until 2024-2025. Any temporary use would require further analysis by Engineering, Fire, and Building Inspection, and/or other authorities having jurisdiction. It should also be noted that given the size and scale of the property, there is the potential to house a variety of City functions on the site that are currently seeking additional warehouse, light industrial, and outdoor storage space (ex – Engineering, Streets, Parks, Police). If the City was interested in / able to purchase the entire property, there would also be property available for future, long-term redevelopment in the area south of Third Street (identified in the Oscar Mayer Special Area Plan for residential uses). However, acquisition of this property would increase the overall purchase price and redevelopment efforts would take a minimum of 3-5 years.
Former Fleet Services Building
Since late 2020, Porchlight has been operating a temporary shelter in the former Fleet Services Building. In preparation of that use Engineering did a deep cleaning of the building and designed and built portable restroom facilities. The long-term plan for the building is for it to become the home of Madison Public Market, the details of which can be found in the companion memo “Moving the Public Market”. Converting this facility into a permanent men’s homeless shelter would require amending the PD zoning or rezoning the property as well as a substantial renovation. This would also end the Madison Public Market as currently planned and financed.
Former Fleet Services Building
Since late 2020, Porchlight has been operating a temporary shelter in the former Fleet Services Building. In preparation of that use Engineering did a deep cleaning of the building and designed and built portable restroom facilities. The long-term plan for the building is for it to become the home of Madison Public Market, the details of which can be found in the companion memo “Moving the Public Market”. Converting this facility into a permanent men’s homeless shelter would require amending the PD zoning or rezoning the property as well as a substantial renovation. This would also end the Madison Public Market as currently planned and financed.
Summary
Temporary Shelter
Please note that the primary reason the temporary emergency shelters at Warner Park Community Recreation Center and former Fleet Facility were able to be established in an expedited manner is the City owns these properties AND the City/BI/MFD did not require typical plan approvals. Any effort to acquire a not-City-owned facility for a temporary emergency shelter will require extensive time to search, confirm consensus, obtain approvals to proceed with a lease and/or purchase, and complete any city building entitlements to legally occupy the building for the shelter use.
At the same time, failure to begin construction of the Madison Public Market in early 2022 will put the $3.5 million of Federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) support at risk and could negatively impact the $3 million of private funding pledged by the Madison Public Market Foundation.
Options
At the May 4th Common Council meeting, the item before you is the acquisition of 2002 Zeier Road. Approval of the resolution will result in staff moving forward with the acquisition of the property and design of the shelter. After the design is complete and Engineering receives pricing, the Common Council will need to vote on whether to proceed with bidding and construction. This option will result in the project being completed in Q4 of 2022 or Q1 of 2023. If the Public Market begins construction at 200 North First Street (former Fleet site) in early 2022 as planned, another temporary emergency shelter location will need to be identified, approved to proceed, designed for use, and building improvements completed.
If the item is referred, it will delay completion by roughly the duration of the referral. (Ex a referral to August will delay completion to spring of 2023. This will extend the need for a temporary shelter site. A referral could also result in termination of the purchase agreement for 2002 Zeier Road.
If the decision is made to abandon the Zeier Road location, staff would begin work on acquiring an alternative location. This would extend the need to utilize a temporary shelter site. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that an alternative site could be acquired in the near term.
It should also be noted that separate from this decision, Real Estate and Engineering staff will continue to explore options to house the variety of City functions that are currently seeking additional warehouse/light industrial space, including the possible purchase of buildings on Pennsylvania Ave.
IT’S NOT HOOPERS, IT’S PENNSYLVANIA PROPERTIES!!!
Strangest staff memo I’ve ever seen . . . ya gotta wonder what’s behind this . . .
From: Mikolajewski, Matthew
Sent: Friday, April 30, 2021 4:35 PM
To: Okeefe, James ; Wachter, Matthew ; Cooper, Bryan ; Rhodes, Linette ; Evans, Jonathan ; Rolfs, Daniel ; Baumel, Christie ; Phillips, Robert ; Cryan, Kathy ; Ouk, Saran ; Rhodes-Conway, Satya V. ; Bottari, Mary ; Vakunta, Linda ; Crawley, Katie ; Abbas, Syed <district12@cityofmadison.com>
Subject: Hooper Corporation
Hi Everyone-
Although the Hooper Corporation property has entered the discussion as a possible site for a permanent men’s homeless shelter, the City currently has no relationship with Hooper in this regard. Further, Hooper Corporation, as a company, is in no way related to our on-going efforts to solve homeless challenges within the community. Hooper Corporation is an important and valued growing employer within our region. As a friendly reminder, in the days ahead, please consider how you are using the “Hooper” name in the context of our homeless housing discussions. For example, rather than saying or writing “Hooper,” perhaps consider using “alternative site” or “Pennsylvania Avenue properties.”
Let me know if you would like to discuss further.
Thanks,
Matt
THE OPPOSITION
New Alder Gary Halverson is picking up where former Samba Baldeh left off opposing the men’s shelter at East Towne.
From: Halverson, Gary <district17@cityofmadison.com>
Sent: Friday, April 30, 2021 1:52 PM
To: Halverson, Gary <district17@cityofmadison.com>
Cc: Haas, Michael R <MHaas@cityofmadison.com>
Subject: Locating a Permanent Location for the Proposed Men’s Shelter
****INFORMATIONAL ONLY****DO NOT RESPOND****
ALL ALDERS ARE BCC ON THIS EMAIL
Locating a Permanent Location for the Proposed Men’s Shelter
2002 Zeier Road does not meet our needs
Goals
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- Close proximity to the Beacon Day center in order to eliminate barriers to access
- Close proximity to downtown where many vital resources are currently available
- Close proximity to public transportation
- Access to case workers who can help facilitate access to employment and housing providers (The Beacon provides)
- Provide a viable path to building a purpose-built shelter
Key Factors
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- Men Experiencing Homelessness have been sheltered in downtown churches for 30+ years. The City and County need to build a permanent emergency men’s shelter.
- Previous years discussions about building a permanent shelter have been focused within 1.5 miles of the capital square.
- Current proposal is only accommodating the purchase and remodel of an overnight shelter with an estimated opening date of October 2022. This will create barriers to access between the day center and this location.
- 2002 Zeier Rd is located 6 miles from the Beacon Day center.
- Revitalization of the Greater East Towne area is vital to future tax base revenue that supports critical services.
1st Street Temporary Shelter Success
Prior to becoming an alder, I met with Preston, who has been the director of the shelter for over 11 years. He said that the last several months have been the most successful he has seen since he started. I asked him what changed? He stated that the first street location made a very big difference for three reasons.
1) The facility is large. They can intake residents inside the building instead of them having to wait outside, especially during inclement weather. The space is also large enough to have a separate area where individuals can safely detox. They are also able to accommodate individuals who have increased anxiety when surrounded by people, they have beds that are spaced out and separated.
2) The location is downtown. Many residents are familiar with the downtown area and being close to the Beacon day center as well as other resources contributed to this more recent success. It is critical that there is close proximity to the Beacon to eliminate barriers to access. Even taking a bus can be a barrier for some.
3) Funding for case workers. Recent funding changes due to the pandemic have allowed them to increase their case workers. These workers are critical to the goal of long-term housing. These workers can build relationships and help the residents apply for housing as well as employment opportunities. They are a vital component to the success of our goals. They could use several more case workers, but the improvement in the well-being of the residents has been significant.
Other Location Options – Hooper Location
There were several locations identified on the original list and many were ruled out due to the timing of availability. One location that was not on the original list is the Hooper location on Pennsylvania Avenue which is available, fits our timeline and the sellers are interested. This location was introduced by President Abbas at the March 30 council meeting since it does check all the boxes that would be needed for an ideal location to build the permanent shelter. In addition, this location is within blocks of the Beacon day center and will give us the time needed to develop the property in stages as the current plan states. This location could be remodeled for an overnight shelter first to meet our timeline to open so that work on the Public Market can start. We then have the time to build out the following phases of the plan which will get us to the fully operational, purpose-built shelter. We can ensure that we provide not only an emergency shelter, but a pathway to long-term housing that facilitates the needs of each individual along the way.
East Towne Area Decline and Future Revitalization
This area has been struggling for a number of years as several of the anchor tenants in the mall have gone out of business (Sears, Boston Store, Gordmans). A few more are at high risk with JC Penny declaring bankruptcy last year and Brew Flix expecting permanently lower attendance of 25% going forward. Smaller tenants have also continued to disappear with many of those locations continuing to remain empty. CBL Properties has stated that many tenants are on the fence with regards to renewal, so the situation is very tenuous.
City planners have been working on the Greater East Towne Area revitalization plan over the past year. They conducted several public and community engagements and have worked with many business owners who have been interested in helping revitalize this area. One of the big success stories has been the Global Market which fills the former Baby’s R Us location. This market has dozens of minority small business owners who operate their stores within the market. The owners of the market talk about how supportive the city was to help them get this location launched. Their investors believed in the revitalization plan for this area and took a chance by investing here.
Throughout all the community outreach and focus on this area, the placement of a permanent men’s shelter in this area was not in the plan. Many of these businesses and residents were very surprised when this was announced in January 2021. There is the potential for over $1B in development growth in the Greater East Towne area which will generate tens of millions in tax base. This revenue will be critical as we navigate a long path toward economic recovery from the devastating the pandemic. There are developers who are interested in building in this area, including a $100M investment which you may have seen in the news. Some of these developers are also interesting in bringing a mix of housing, including more affordable units. One developer has an entire division that has built tens of thousands of affordable units and is interested in building here as well. Building these affordable units require investment and that investment is strengthened by building a mix of several types of housing. This $100M development would help kick off many additional investments in this area.
These investors have seen the potential of this area, but they are also watching to see how we are going to support the growth in this area. Studies have shown that when there is a high collective efficacy* in an area, it facilitates healthy growth, conversely when an area is depressed and there little collective efficacy, it continues to spiral in a negative direction. Having positive growth of small businesses, new housing units and recreation areas are what fosters a higher collective efficacy. The Greater East Towne plan is a move in the right direction, and we will need to continue to support existing businesses as well as foster an environment that will attract new housing developments and small businesses.
I believe we have the collective will to build out this purpose-built shelter over the next several years and ensure that our vulnerable residents experiencing homelessness will have access to a facility that will get them on the path to long term housing. I believe it is our responsibility to ensure that this done correctly from the start to ensure future success.
*Collective efficacy: refers to the level of mutual trust and cohesion among residents and their willingness to work toward the common good [and] is related to the structural characteristics of the neighborhood.
Thank you,
Gary Halverson
Alder, District 17
Email: district17@cityofmadison.com
Phone: (608) 563-8483
www.cityofmadison.com/council/district17
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT?
Haters will hate. Hand wringing and teeth gnashing and suspense until the final vote is taken. We’ll see what happens tonight!
