The late night tour for the Madison Hospitality Zone Assessment began with a trek to the oldest of Madison’s traditional bars – the Essen Haus. The small but hearty tour group held up to the pressures of a bootful of beer, a two-piece polka band and lederhosen-laden servers. The group observed that the German-themed bar was a destination for many demographics; frat boys and bachelorette parties, young professionals and seasoned vets, families and singletons; and polka enthusiasts of all ilks.

The tour group progressed on to King Street to observe other watering holes. The next stop was the Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company, another popular site for a diverse crowd of older students, families and professionals. The group was treated to a sampling of the brewing company’s signature and specialty beers; a variety to please all palates. Dane co-owner Ted Peterson led the group on a tour of the pub and laid out the background of his successful bar/restaurant strategy. Ted emphasized the Dane’s commitment to quality, tasty foods in an evolving menu and training hospitable and dedicated servers to keep the ambiance safe and inviting as a bar and as a restaurant.   

From the Dane the group took a walk to the other end of the geographical bar scene spectrum – the Memorial Union, student hangout extraordinaire. On the way they stopped into Woof’s, a gay, metal-themed sports bar; the Bartell Theatre, home to many theatre troupes and neighbor to a boisterously loud Café Montmartre; and Frida Mexican Grill, a Thursday night Latin dance club with a few obvious under-agers and even more obvious security guards. With occasional forays into other venues including the KK and State Street Brats, the troupe noted the diversity of patrons and music choices available on a typical night downtown. The Memorial Union offered a relatively quiet reprieve even though it was only the second visited venue to offer live (not DJ) music.  

 From the Union the tireless tour group marched on to Brothers Bar & Grill to witness a unique mix of hip-hop and teeny-bop students dancing around an unruffled security staff. Then the tour got really exciting when the group caught up with two Central District Community police officers on their rounds to dragnet under-agers in Johnny O’s Restaurant & Bar. The officers described their usual methods for sweeping bars and spotting under-aged patrons and what usually happens to the individuals and bars after such issues occur. They noted that bars and police work more effectively when working in cooperation to enforce age laws and a safer and friendlier environment for patrons prevails.  

After tagging along for a sweep, the tour group took a break for some pizza at the popular Ian’s Pizza to regroup and recharge.  From there they crossed the street to Wando’s Bar & Grill and closed down the evening talking to owner Jay (Wando) Wanserski. Wando shared his philosophies and standards for creating a safe, clean and welcoming bar for students and patrons. Wando chooses to focus on training his staff to make safety a priority – security staff and bartenders are supposed to be aware at all times of environmental hazards, such as a broken glass, and social hazards, like intoxicated individuals, and are required to step in to intercept potential dangers. In Wando’s opinion, a bar that does well has no need to take safety risks such as letting in under-agers and serving already intoxicated individuals.

At closing time the bars emptied out and the streets filled up. As there are few late-night options for public transportation and limited opportunities for taxi services, most of the people who were until recently partying hard now had to either make their way home on their own or find food to sober up.  A popular spot for the latter, Ian’s Pizza, features fast service and well-lit dining areas to improve safety. Many restaurants that are open late have hired their own security to handle the late night swell of customers. A campus police officer met with the group and discussed what happens to many of the individuals that try to walk or drive home on their own and how the campus and city police work around and with each other to control the outpouring.

By that time it was well into the wee hours of Friday morning and the tour group felt they had seen all that could be seen in one night of downtown Madison revelry. The group parted ways and walked or taxied home. The hospitality tourists learned and observed much about the late-night culture and will be presenting their notes alongside the other assessment groups at the HZA roundtable discussions June 3^rd and 4^th.

For more information on how to get involved in the HZA process, contact Sarah Hoover or check out the official Madison HZA website.

If we follow the saying that Wisconsin has two seasons – winter and construction (a.k.a. summer) - we have good news for UW students, faculty alumni and friends: perpetual summer for at least the next 3 years! 

The next 6 months will (hopefully) round out the end of construction on State Street and the nearby University Square and Grainger Hall developments on University Avenue, but have no fear; there are many other planned projects that will pick up where those leave off. The old Ogg hall in the central campus area will continue its deconstruction phases to make way for a pedestrian mall and green space that will flow to the expanded Chazen Museum of Art, which is set to begin construction early next year. The Wisconsin Institute of Discovery has already begun clearing out the 1300 block of University Ave to set the foundations for its $150 million facility with the goal of completing construction in 2010.

No part of campus will be sacred in the upcoming season, not even the holy historical Memorial Union.

The Wisconsin Union, the epicenter of all things UW related, will be updating both the Memorial Union and Union South starting in spring of 2009. No worries about losing the personality of the Memorial Union – it will get basic accessibility, heating, cooling, and ventilation upgrades while preserving the historic and uniquely Wisconsin integrity that we all know and love.

It’s Union South, the building that screams “Soviet Concrete Bloc”, that will get the true overhaul. The building located on the engineering side of campus is, in large part due to its staggeringly sterile design, highly underutilized by students. The Wisconsin Union Initiative plans on designing a brand new student- and eco-friendly building to replace the one that currently stands.

The Initiative hopes to create a new south campus building that serves as a gateway for south campus buildings – including the forthcoming Wisconsin Institute for Discovery – and creates an “enduring campus center with its own identity” to serve students on the southwest side of campus. The green design will provide an urban entertainment center for student groups and individuals in the area that currently lack an accommodating and appealing place to go.

The Wisconsin Union Initiative is encouraging the UW community to partake in development of the new facility. Seven umbrella Design Advisory Groups (DAGs) associated with the project will meet every week from now until May 5th to discuss aspects of design and function for the new south building. The initiative wants input from UW students, faculty, alumni and freinds, so this is your chance to state your beef or forever hold your peace. It’s already been a long winter, so settle in for an extended constructions season. Contact Dan Cornelius or David Christopher of the Wisconsin Union Initiative to get more info at unionbuildingproject@gmail.com.

 DAG Schedule (all meetings in the Project Office of the Memorial Union)

Tuesdays
6-7:30 pm- Foodservice and Retail
8-9:30 pm- Indoor/Outdoor RecreationWednesdays
5-6:30 pm- Programming and Operations
7-8:30 pm- Leadership and Involvement

There really are t-shirts about Madison’s winter!

Obviously this blog has become extremely influential to Madison’s mainstream.

Consultant Tom Ticknor has been as good as his word.
After listening sessions which began in September of 2007, internal city discussions, interviews, and revisions, a draft of the Strategic Economic Development Implementation Plan is now ready.

The city Economic Development Commission will be witness to the first official presentation, though the Office of Business Resources has been summarizing the relevant details for the DMI Economic Development Committee.

Matt Mikolajewski, Manager of the Office of Business Resources, pointed out that the last plan was written in 1983. Much has changed in Madison since then. This plan is designed to be a three-to-five year guide to implementation of good economic development policy.

The plan focuses on core economic development and basic sector job creation with the understanding that more basic sector jobs mean service sector positions will follow. Studies of comparable cities such as Des Moines, Austin, Ann Arbor and Boise give us a few ideas; the interviews and economic reviews done by Ticknor & Associates provide a clearly Madison direction.

Read the draft for yourself at the OBR website, and attend either the Feb. 27th Economic Development Commission meeting (5:00 pm., United Way of Dane County, 2059 Atwood Ave, Evjue Boardroom) or one of the review sessions on Tuesday March 25th ( read the invitation here.) Your opinion matters–tell us and the city what you think!

OK, we realize that DMI has a slight dependency on acronyms, just like Madison has a slight dependency on snow plows right now.  But, in our defense, as our techie world and jargon lingo gets more complex it just makes sense to downsize. Saves on ink, easier to text.

That being said, the following are a few of the acronyms we throw out every now and again.

 DMI – Downtown Madison Inc. , the downtown organization for cool people, but you already knew that.

BID – Short for Madison’s Central Business Improvement District, an assessment district stretching from Memorial Union and State Street to the Capitol Square. The BID is an excellent liaison between business and property owners, the city, and downtown stakeholders. Check the link for maps, gift certificates, and goings-on.

CNI – Capitol Neighborhoods Inc. A neighborhood association of citizens bound together by a geographical area who cooperate to support and improve the quality of life in their neighborhood. Capitol Neighborhoods consists of six “districts”, First Settlement, Bassett, Mifflin West, Mansion Hill, James Madison Park and State/Langdon, which have independent identities, but are integral parts of the whole association 

GMCVB (aka the CVB) - Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau. They are the greater Madison area’s official destination marketing organization. The GMCVB is responsible for attracting new destination events to the community, as well as providing service and support to existing and repeat events, and providing comprehensive information to visitors to the area.

GMCC – Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce. The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce is the voice of the Greater Madison business community in the city, county, and state public arenas.  The GMCC monitors, researches, analyzes, and lobbies on policy issues that affect the daily operations of local businesses, and advocates for policies that foster regional economic development in Greater Madison.

RTA – Regional Transit Authority, an entity not yet in existence that would oversee and implement transportation options for Madison and the surrounding region.

BUILD - Better Urban Infill Land Development – Planning grants for downtown revitalization

HZA – Hospitality Zone Assessment. A comprehensive and integrated approcah to identify current and emerging issues in hospitality zone management. The assessment involves community discussion with representatives from the community, policing agencies, and the hospitality and entertainment industry.

RHI – Responsible Hospitality Industry: A not-for-profit organization committed to making safe and vibrant places to socialize.  Facilitators of the HZA.

TIF – Tax Incremental Funding: A tool that uses future tax gains to finance current development projects that will create and increase said gains. Block 89 is an example of  project partially funded by TIF funds.

TID – Tax Incremental District. The area created around an economic generator for TIF projects.

IDA – International Downtown Association: A worldwide network of downtown associations and BIDs committed to providing resources to create vital and liveable urban centers.

PUD – Planned Unit Development: Both a type of building development and regulatory process. These developments are most often mixed-use centers. In part due to a downtown plan which is not yet up to date, many projects have to be submitted as a PUD.

THRIVE – Not an acronym. Formerly known as the Regional Economic Development Entity. A non-profit organization for promoting the economic development of Dane County and the surrounding region to improve quality of life.

 SBDC – Small Business Development Center: A network of offices run by the UW Extension to provide educational services and programs for small-business clients. Low cost courses, seminars and workshops covering every step of small business development are available throughout the year.

GSSBA – Greater State Street Business Association: The businesses of the State Street area form this nonprofit.  Their main event is Maxwell Street Days, a great time to visit the Farmer’s Market, see the exhibits, and shop!

CDA – Community Development Authority: A standing committee in the City of Madison government.  The CDA is a housing, redevelopment and community authority.

DCC – Downtown Coordinating Committee: A standing city of Madison committee devoted to making recommendations on ongoing issues of 0peration, design, safety, maintenance, use of downtown area; provide advice on development, implementation, and revisions to plans for improvement in the downtown area.

Tickets to the DMI Frostiball are in the mail, meaning the event is less than 2 weeks away. It’s crunch time  if you’re still looking for a last-minute dress or accessory, trying to get fitted for a tux, and rallying the troops for a festive night out.

 Although there are many couples that attend the event, the party is not exclusively for pairs.

The night is an excellent opportunity for singles to cut loose in style. For example, last year saw the debut of Women Behaving Badly, a group of women (some single, some not) that took Frostiball as an opportunity to strut their unique flair. For them the night became a showcase for their personalities and individuality and a chance to show attitude in the ambiance. Group members were given points for “bad behavior”, such as wearing non-traditional dresses, wardrobe malfunctions (none as racy as Janet Jackson’s), and dance theatrics. The night became, for them, the Frosti-brawl; an outlet for their inner, irreverent debutante.

Madison adopted a Comprehensive Plan in 2006, guiding economic development, land use, housing, and planning for the city.  The downtown was recognized as a special place, a shared space where mixed uses create a vibrant and energetic feel to the city center.  We recognized that however well we made the doughnut, the center would have to taste different. (We’re assuming some kind of bismark or long john, for the sake of the metaphor.)

Now it’s time to fill in the center, and the city staff is working closely with DMI representatives to make sure we do it right.   Building from the Downtown Advisory Report written by Schrieber Anderson & Associates, the new Downtown Plan will address downtown living, working, moving around, visitors, recreation and entertainment, and building a sense of place into the development and redevelopment process. 

The DMI Economic Development committee has created a subgroup to meet regularly with city staff to review their progress and provide expert input throughout the process.  Though meetings have just begun, already there is discussion about forming another group of design professionals to think big and think ahead, giving the city staff a polishing box for ideas and concerns.   

The DMI MetroBeat blog will keep you informed, and please—add your comments as we move through the process!

Some of you may know that the DMI offices got a bit of a facelift last spring. It made for an interesting experience, especially when half the staff were without office space for a few days. Thankfully we were able to catch most of the events on the office camera. Here’s a recap with “exact” quotes.

Hey John! The office is being remodeled and you’re getting a new desk!

We’ll have to put you in a temporary location for now. The board room is the only available space; sure hope it’s not too uncomfortable.

You’re going to need a lot more help while you’re in the bigger office. Luckily the GMCC and REDE (I mean, THRIVE) has troops to spare! Now you can do all the things that REALLY need to get done…

…like making sure those BID people don’t get loose…

…and substituting Mitch Freund with an evil twin.

Okay! The work is done and the office is ready. Time to leave the board room and go to your new desk!

And they all lived happily ever after in the new four-person cubicle.

The End.

Downtown Madison has proven to be an invaluable resource for downtown development both big and small.The downtown Madison economic and business development model seems to be an apt comparative for other similar sized-cities, smaller suburbs, and even larger cities. 

The New York Times recently ran an article about downtown White Plains, NY, a “suburb city” 30 miles north of NYC, that has achieved massive advancement in the last ten years. It claimed its success through borrowing elements of downtown development used in Boston, Chicago and Madison. Though its size is much smaller than these three cities (about 60,000 residents), planners were able to use comparative data to incorporate the New York influences with high- and low-income housing (both new and old) to obtain “the right mix”.

The recent Downtown Market Analysis (carried out by the UW Extension) compared Madison’s downtown model to other Midwest and Western cities to gauge our downtown’s economic and business development (the executive summary can be found here). The market analysis results indicated that, in comparison to cities similar in size, University affiliation and state Government connection, Madison’s downtown mix is quite healthy.

This attention and comparison is impressive considering the fact that the City of Madison has not had a new, comprehensive economic development plan in 24 years. The city will be creating a new plan this year, and will have a first draft out next month. The city held listening sessions with business owners and the public over the last two months to determine what its role should be in the future, and hopefully we will be hearing about more cities using downtown Madison as a model for growth.  

It’s the time of year when the big holidays are over but it’s still freezing outside and the winter doldrums are about to set in.  What better time to break out the black ties and satin skirts in glamorous Overture Hall? 

This year marks the 22nd annual Frostiball, coming directly to downtown Madison on February 2nd. This year’s event will feature 3 different venues within the Overture Center for the Arts, food from Catering a Fresco, and music by the Dick Judson Orchestra. This is the event in Madison; a signature night of pure and simple celebration, unique from any other event downtown. 

Susan Schmitz, who has attended nearly every Frostiball since its inception, says that the event is much more than just a “grown-up prom” because “you can do so much more with it”. Although it’s black tie invited, the welcoming and open atmosphere encourages people to step out of the normal formal-wear boundaries. Other than Halloween, this is the day of the year that you can wear a ball gown, top hat, dress kilt or feather boa in front of a crowd. Whatever your interpretation of dress-up is, wear it to the Frosti.

Like Halloween, some have been planning their Frostiball ensemble for six months. Others may scramble in these last few weeks before the event, checking out downtown boutiques, local designers, consignment stores or even a friend’s closet. Both Elizabeth Wewerka of Lady Moxie and Schmitz noted that many women will recycle dresses and accessories or trade with friends, a sensible option considering there are few other occasions in Madison with so much style. (Just try to search The Daily Page  for “gala”.)

If you’re still out there looking for what to wear, there are still plenty of classic and trendy options to go with. According to Susan, long skirts and black are always timeless and elegant.  Lately long gloves and bling bling jewelry (large, glittery pieces) have become very trendy items. Her best advice to men and women is not to limit yourself, especially with dramatic pieces; “Where else would you wear it but to the Frostiball?”

Elizabeth also has good advice for Frosti-goers: “Sexy  or trendy is what you feel good in. If you feel uncomfortable, it’s going to show. Wear something that you feel good in and that confidence will be hot.” She contends that Frostiball is a great event for people to have fun dressing up; short skirts, long skirts, tuxes, kilts and suits are all acceptable. Even a minidress could work if done right.

So, whether you want to stand out in the crowd or just do your own thing, the Frostiball is a welcoming reprieve from the ordinary.