Category News

V&A volunteers clean up Brittingham Park, Monona Bay Shoreline

MADISON, WIS.: On the morning of Aug. 8, members of the Vandewalle & Associates team joined with Friends of Monona Bay for a park and shoreline cleanup. Friends of Monona Bay organizes this volunteer event monthly at Brittingham – where park, recreation and nature lovers can give back to the parks by picking up up trash along the Monona Bay Shoreline and in Brittingham Park.

In the afternoon, Vandewalle & Associates team members and their families gathered at the Brittingham Park Shelter to share a picnic lunch, playtime, and camaraderie.

Wisconsin Rapids former Paper Mill: Is the site right for a data center?

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WIS. (WITH EXCERPTS FROM WPR.ORG) Once Wisconsin’s largest paper mill, a century-old facility in Wisconsin Rapids closed in 2020. In 2021 it became the focus of “Rapid Renewal,” a proposed plan for recovery and redevelopment developed by Vandewalle & Associates. After the facility owner’s attempts to restart the mill or find a buyer failed, it was torn down in 2025. Now the city is considering a new proposal for the 220-acre site: a data center.

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Watertown looks at comprehensive zoning code rewrite

WATERTOWN, WIS. (EXCERPTS FROM WDTIMES.COM) — The Watertown Plan Commission met recently to discuss its comprehensive zoning code rewrite. Associate Planner Sonja Kruesel of Vandewalle & Associates presented a comprehensive view and a new zoning map, explained its new mix of upzoning and downzoning.

“The Corridor Mixed-Use District allows for a greater mix of land uses than the General Business District used to,” she said. Upzoning increases the development density or uses of the land, such as having a smaller minimum lot area or reduced setbacks. Downzoning is the opposite, reducing permitted uses via the assigned district (for example, from commercial to residential).

You can read the WDTIMES.COM article here.

Big changes coming to the Alliant Energy Center

MADISON, WIS. (FULL VIDEO WOWT.COM): The first major piece of Alliant Energy Center’s long-term redevelopment plan is moving forward after the Madison Urban Design Commission unanimously approved plans for the Exhibition Hall expansion Wednesday, with conditions requiring revisions to the project’s landscaping.

Realta Fusion HQ lands on former Oscar Mayer site

MADISON, WIS. (EXCERPTS FROM DAILYREPORTER.COM): After two years of searching, Madison-based Realta Fusion will build a research and development facility in its own backyard at the former Oscar Mayer plant site in Madison. Realta’s headquarters at OM Station is expected to create 600 jobs and break ground before the end of 2026. The site was at the core of the Former Oscar Mayer Plant Strategic Plan and Northside Area Plan crafted by Vandewalle & Associates.

The Oscar Mayer plant has been eyed for redevelopment for years after it closed in June 2017. The plant was shuttered due to restructuring after a 2015 merger of Kraft Foods Group and H.J. Heinz Co. Since then, the state has offered grants to spur redevelopment of campus buildings.

Realta received an incentive package from the state including $37.5 million in state sales and use tax exemptions and up to $15 million in performance-based enterprise zone tax credits from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. Madison also approved $2.8 million in tax increment financing for job creation.

The company will break ground on “The Realta Forge,” before the end of the year, officials said.

(Full article here.)

In Memoriam: Brian E. Vandewalle

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Community Partners, 

With heavy hearts, Vandewalle & Associates informs you of the passing of our Founder and CEO, Brian Vandewalle (1948–2026). 

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Waterloo River Lights Experience brings community together

WATERLOO, IOWA – Waterloo’s River Lights Experience is featured in this issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine. The article explores how the dynamic new programmed lighting installation not only highlights the falls and the 4th Street Bridge, it also brings the community together in a shared experience of energy and color.

The bridge and this part of the river had long been seen as a physical and socio-economic barrier between parts of the community. In his lighting ceremony address, Mayor Quentin Hart explained the transformation and its importance to the community this way. “I want it, once and for all, to transform this archaic symbol of division into a modern celebration of unity.”

Vandewalle & Associates and Eye Level Studio helped the City envision the transformation lighting could make to this section of the falls, and worked with Shakespeare Lighting and Rutland-Kuiper Architects to bring it to fruition.

Wisconsin Policy Forum looks at data center impacts

WISCONSIN, USA (EXCERPTS FROM https://wispolicyforum.org/): Several massive data centers are being planned in Wisconsin to help power the global boom in artificial intelligence. The centers would add demand for electricity and water, but do so after years of declining usage of both. Given that planned and potential data centers could require costly utility upgrades, it will be important to ensure those potential costs are fairly distributed.

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Rise Madison Grand Opening

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.

Block party launches Oaks of Jackson neighborhood

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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Proven Principles Address the Housing Shortage

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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New Affordable Housing on Madison’s East Side

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.

Colorful tree for a colorful guy: an update

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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