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DANE COUNTY, WISC. – Dane County has put out a request for proposals to deliver a “transformative renovation” to the Alliant Energy Center’s 58-year-old Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Proposals should include everything from upgrades to dated building systems to new concessions to modernization of guest spaces.

According to the public notice, the county is seeking a private sector partner that can help the Coliseum profitable, and retain existing major events such as World Dairy, and the Midwest Horse Fair, as well as compete with similarly sized venues for other events like concerts.

MADISON, WISC – Rise Madison is an all-affordable housing community in Madison, Wisconsin. It opened with four buildings (Hawthorne Pointe, The Starling, Vireo Townhomes; the fourth, The Phoebe, is expected in early October). whpc.com

The development has 245 units (one‑, two‑, and three‑bedroom) for families and seniors, with income restrictions between ~30‑80% of Area Median Income (AMI). 

Amenities include ~1.5 acres of green/open space, playground, community rooms, fitness rooms, rooftop plaza, underground parking; the site is well connected (public transit, schools, clinics). 

Funding sources include LIHTC (4%), tax‑exempt bonds, TIF, and state grants.

WATERTOWN, WISC.- The Collective Campus redevelopment in Watertown has won an award from WEDA for “Real Estate Redevelopment and Reuse.”

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WASHINGTON CO. WISC. – On Wednesday, October 15 from 4-7 pm, the homeowners association of the Oaks of Jackson hosts its first ever community block party. Sponsors for the event include planners Vandewalle & Associates, as well as builders Harbor Homes and Hillcrest, and SEH the engineer/planner.

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MADISON, WISC. For cities and villages in Dane County interested in addressing the housing shortage, the Grandview Commons residential mixed-use neighborhood on Madison’s far east side provides a real-world example of bringing together different types and densities of housing in one neighborhood, at a range of price points.

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MADISON (WKOW) — Rise Madison, a new affordable housing development geared toward working individuals, families and senior opened at 958 Rise Lane, at the intersection of East Washington and N. Fair Oaks Avenues.

The Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corp., nonprofit owner and developer of the housing project, worked with developers and the City to bring about the project.

Affordable housing is much needed in Wisconsin’s fastest growing county. Local leaders expressed their hopes for the development and the opportunities it will give Madison residents.

VERONA, WIS. House 360°, a new multicultural arts hub in Verona, opened its doors to the public this past month to great excitement after a three-year effort to make it happen.

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MADISON, WISC. – On July 8, a close group of Vandewalle & Associates employees present and past, along with members of the Slavney family, gathered in a private informal ceremony to honor the memory and legacy of community service of the late Mike Slavney, FAICP. A young Serviceberry tree was planted in tribute on the V&A grounds.

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On August 7, principal Brian Munson of Vandewalle & Associates led a neighborhood tour on behalf of Dane County for the Model Ordinance project. The tour visited one of Veridian Homes’ largest traditional neighborhoods: Grandview Commons.

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A new neighborhood design from Veridian Homes proposes 500 single-family homes, twin homes and townhouses would be built on about 150 acres of farmland on Madison’s Far East Side.

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BAYSIDE, WIS. – Bayside will soon get 153 new senior housing units in the OneNorth development at Port Washington Road and Brown Deer Road, offering the ability to provide a full range of senior care: Independent living, age-in-place assisted living, and memory care. This need was identified in the community’s updated Comprehensive Plan.

Not all assisted living or communities are fully continuity-of-care equipped. It’s an important factor to consider for the aging process, helping helps keep people in the community they know even as their needs change. The surrounding mixed-use development is expected to offer other walkable amenities seniors appreciate, such as a new library.

The apartments raise the 26-acre OneNorth development’s total investment to $100 million, Scott Yauck, Cobalt Partners president and chief executive officer, told the Journal Sentinel in November. In 2021, the village approved a tax incremental financing district that will help fund development on the site with $35 million in village financing.

Public engagement throughout the Comprehensive and OneNorth planning processes has helped the community express preferences and evolve the entire development to be closer to community goals.

Construction has now started, with the goal of completion by early 2027.

MADISON, WIS. – A public-private partnership led by the Regent Street Group has big ideas to turn a mile-long stretch of Madison’s Regent Street into a year-round entertainment district that plays on the area’s assets. Serving as a both a major transportation corridor and activity zone for UW Sports event-goers, it serves the diverse needs of students, healthcare workers, businesses, and neighborhood residents.

The area has already seen a dramatic increase in redevelopment and development density. But more transformation, much more, is coming.

In March, Rob Gottschalk from Vandewalle & Associates gave a well-received presentation on Regent Street. He explained the urgency to shape an aspirational vision now. He also shared some of the big ideas from the partnership. The goal is to inspire, secure Regent Street’s distinct character, and help shape the coming transformation to include a place for all users.

Beloit is doing everything it can to carry out the Beloit Comprehensive Plan, created with the help of Vandewalle & Associates. Read on to find out some of the activities and partnerships that are helping make the community’s goals and vision happen.

JEFFERSON COUNTY, WIS. – In this article from the Milwaukee Journal Biz Times, Jefferson County shares some of the planning, positioning and economic development efforts from the last decade that are now paying off, in a time that makes this a big deal indeed. Read the full story here.

With deep sorrow we share news of the passing of great champion of communities, principal planner, and friend Scott Harrington on 14 February.

Our team’s gratitude to Scott for his contributions over the last 22 years cannot be fully expressed. His impact on and in communities will only continue to grow.

As many of you know, Scott was diagnosed with a terminal illness just before Christmas. Being Scott, his first thought in late December was to help support clients and continue the great project momentum the team had built through our work together.

Scott was ever eager to share his expertise and deep knowledge, and helped build a formidable planning team. All of us will continue to benefit from his countless contributions in the months and years to come thanks to his undeniable energy, commitment, and powerful team spirit.

Scott’s family has shared this link to his official obituary: https://www.gundersonfh.com/obituaries/E-Scott-Harrington?obId=37337981.

As a company we are also gathering thoughts, stories, and condolences on our LinkedIn page from team clients, partners, colleagues, neighbors, and community. Please join us in that space to help honor Scott.

A publication of the Wisconsin League of Municipalities has published an article about the solutions two V&A client communities have used to help address the housing crisis.

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MADISON, WISC.: Save the date for the Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture Career Fair at UW–Madison on February 13–14, 2025.

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VERONA, WISC.: The new Ice Rink at Century School Park is making this new area of the downtown vibrant all year around.

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FORT ATKINSON, WISC.: With the goal of creating new multi-family and single-family homes, the City of Fort Atkinson announces its partnership with Intrepid Investments LLC, on the Ridge View Estates subdivision, located along Banker Road.

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HORICON, WISC. January 13, it was announced that the City of Horicon would receive a Federal grant of $160,000 for railroad safety planning and design. The announcement comes after the City worked with Vandewalle & Associates on a competitive grant writing process. Many V&A team members were involved in this effort. 

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Finnish food technology company Onego Bio has signed a letter of intent to purchase 25.9 acres of land located within Jefferson County’s Food and Beverage Innovation Campus on the south side of the City of Jefferson.

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The City of Watertown recently worked with planning firm Vandewalle & Associates on new zoning changes.

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The Village of Greendale asked for and received valuable input from Greendale residents to help plan and select new playground equipment for Community Center Park. Now that plan, first proposed in the Village’s 2023 Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, is funded and in motion.

“This important project, highlighted in the Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, aims to replace outdated equipment with ADA-compliant equipment and all-abilities components,” the village said in the post.

Concepts were submitted by three playground suppliers, each offering options at $150,000 and $300,000 budget levels.

With a successful CBDG grant award, the Village’s 2025 budget now approved, and rollover funds from 2024, the Village will be able to execute park improvements at the $300,000 level.

Vandewalle & Associates is proud to announce that Jackie Mich, AICP, Lead Associate Planner has been named Director of the Milwaukee Office.

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PORTAGE COUNTY: The Public Information Meeting on October 29^th, 2024, for Portage County’s Safety Action Plan study was a big success, with numerous attendees sharing their thoughts about traffic safety.  The interactive learning tables helped explain concepts such as positively offset left-turn lanes, advanced yield lines, and multi-lane roundabout driving. 

Vandewalle & Associates has been leading the Portage County Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan update, one piece of the Portage County Safety Action Plan.

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WATERTOWN WISC. (EXCERPTS FROM WDTIMES.COM): The Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation (GWCHF) has stepped up its efforts to bring public and private entities together to address the community’s shortage of homes for sale with four projects.

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MONONA, WIS. (EXCERPTS FROM ISTHMUS.COM): New housing in “landlocked” Monona? Hemmed in by Lake Monona and the City of Madison, Monona lacks the cornfields along its borders that are easy for communities to annex, subdivide, and develop.

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MOLINE, ILLINOIS (EXCERPTS FROM QUADCITIESBUSINESS.COM): A recent article in QuadCitiesBusiness.com begins to tell the story of our founder, President and CEO Brian Vandewalle’s game-changing work 35 years ago in Moline.

“Downtown Moline looks the way it does largely because 35 years ago people like Jerry Butts, John Slover, Jerry Taylor, Bob Hanson and others were inspired to (form Renew Moline and) pursue a vision for their community” said Renew Moline’s President & CEO Alexandra Elias. A key part of the formula that included generous donations of property and funding from John Deere / Deere & Company and others.

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Eye Level Studio redesigned the Cave of the Mounds Visitor Center which reopened its doors this summer. The team also developed concepts and schematic plans for the Visitor Welcome Area which will be implemented next year.

Eye Level Studio has now developed concept plans and fresh stories for the Cave Entrance Building and its site and new destination, the Quarry.

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(JACKSON, WIS – WITH EXCERPTS FROM JSONLINE.COM): As the Village Jackson sees big surge in sales, Washington County’s focus on building Next Generation Housing is paying off in a rise in home sales.

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This past week, communities and the planning field lost one of their most valued advocates, mentors, and friends: Michael A. Slavney, FAICP.

Mike was a huge part of the Vandewalle & Associates formula and family. Though he retired from the company in 2022, he was then and now our Community Planning and Zoning Principal Emeritus.

Mike’s enduring legacy deserves its very own chapter in the firm’s history book. In that spirit, and to pay tribute to this remarkable human, we are publishing the unofficial “preface chapter” in a series of chapters on what built our pioneering practice.

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VERONA, WIS – Verona’s new Century School Park on West Verona Avenue held a grand opening event in July. The well-attended event punctuated Summer and launched a whole new season of concerts and community activities. Music in the new bandshell was provided by the Mad City Jug Band as part of Verona Area Chamber of Commerce’s Concerts in the Park series.

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MIDDLETON, WISC. – Middleton Zoning Code rewrite has won the American Planning Association – Wisconsin Chapter (APA-WI) Best Practice 2024 award. The award was presented at the annual conference held in Madison on September 12, 2024.

The APA-WI praised the project for being a model for municipalities across the state. The president of APA-WI, Kara Homan, said that the project is an example of a community working to understand and solve the issues they face. 

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MADISON, WIS. (EXCERPTS FROM MADISON.COM) – Madison’s City Council has given final approval for an eight-story apartment building and a six-story hotel that would neighbor the historic Hotel Ruby Marie.

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STEVENS POINT, WIS. — Stevens Point has approved a new vision for an area of downtown with a Targeted Area Master Plan developed with the help of Vandewalle & Associates and the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Stevens Point.

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