Plan Commission Live Blog (of sorts): Bethel Church

Now that I have a keyboard that I can rely on, I feel comfortable doing this semi-live, you’ll have to live with the typos. First item of interest for me was the Bethel Lutheran Church Informal Presentation.

PRESENTATION
Alice Mowry, Senior Administrator – filling in for Pastor Bill White. Downtown Church for 156 years and a significant presence. 5 – 6K membership and 1500 worship on Sundays and double on festival Sundays. in 1960s and 50s they bought the rest of the block. 1959 bought the Steensland House and used it til 2005. In 1974 it was designated a historic property. Got a 6 day notice and against their wishes named it a landmark. The letter they wrote then speaks to their same issues now. They don’t have any knowledge of any promise to keep it in perpetuity. She talks about their services to homeless and mentally ill (two houses), rent free recovery meetings for 5 groups, involved in jail transition ministry. Food Pantry 100,000 meals per year. Also, house for many music ministries as well, Madison Symphony and rehearsal space for other groups.

Randy Alexander talks about idea he has for the site. In 2008 they started studying what Bethel would need to do to sustain itself into the future. They consulted 32 outside agencies and 1900 members and families with children and DMI people with children. Project has two section, underground parking and educational/administrative and community center space (150K sq feet). Community services is a gym, meeting and conference room and meeting space, daycare, workshop space and a day school. Confusion about their power point presentation. They did two studies what they wanted and economic feasibility study. It’s available. They said program needs could not be met with the house and that it needed to be relocated. Economic hardship would be over $2M if not moved and relocation on the site would affect ability to function and require new structure to be 2 additional stories. He points out the map. They looked at moving the house to the corner of Carroll and Gorham. He says they need two gymnasiums and there is only one way to get them both on one floor unless they stack them. And they are 28 feet floor to floor, if they do that, he shows how tall the building would be which is more than twice as tall as the Steensland house. He shows the floors of the building. Parking on first floor, meeting and program space on second levels, gyms on third level and then the mechanicals. The first level is below ground. The third level is actually two because the ceilings are 28 feet tall. He shows the massing, says the building is the same size as current except tower on Bethel is taller. (but that isn’t what the picture looked like to me . . . but it was faint) He shows a largely glass block building to show the massing from the Carroll and Gorham and what you would see from the parking garage. He says there is a 4,000 square foot daycare that includes the outside area.

Bill White, the attorney, is reporting on the work Peder Moran did on the historic building. He talks about the historic preservation study. Says while the house is of interest but it has lost its context when the other houses were taken down. He says the historic issues are there to honor someone and there is a bridge named for them and now they are trying to figure out what to do with the house. They are trying to relocate it. They are trying to locate it in the historic district and have one spot it might work but can’t talk about it, they will try outside the area if this doesn’t work. Its in the newspaper and on Craiglist if anyone wants it.

QUESTIONS
Alder Julia Kerr asks about the short notice and are the objecting to the landmark status. Are they arguing they don’t’ want it landmarked?

White says that they were pointing out what happened.

Kerr asks if they think it isn’t historic?

White says it was, but once it loses its context, it loses its value. He says it is a difficult issue for all of us and thanks Mansion Hill Neighborhood for trying to work with them.

Kerr asks if the argument is that at one point it was significantly historic, but not intake now cuz context is gone.

Kerr asks Alexander if he presented to plan commission before, he says yes, she asks him to explain their role.

Randy Alexander says he’s a member and project manager and architect.

Kerr asks what assurances that the house won’t be moved and project will not go forward.

Alexander says they can’t assure them, they don’t have $20M and only 6,000 members and if they can find a good home for the building and the timing says I need to move the home today, that will be a decision you make at that time. There is a limited ability to find a home for the building. They still need to raise the capital but they want to do the GDP first.

Kerr asks if they want to be allowed to move the house without financing in place and without operating funds to run the ambitious facility.

Alexander says that they haven’t asked yet.

Kerr asks if they don’t have the money.

Alexander says they don’t have the operating endowment or capital to build it but think they can raise it.

Tim Gruber says he likes filling in parking lots but concerned about blank wall, not good for the downtown. More windows would help.

Mike Basford wants to know what affect the project would have on the current space, administration and community services and education going on there now. How will the space be reorganized.

Alexander says they won’t reprogram that space, they might share space in the other building, but the uses won’t change.

No other questions.

That’s it. More info here.