The new year features smart development in Madison

By Dave Cieslewicz

When I think about what 2007 is going to look like for the building and development industries, one of the first things that comes to mind is the redevelopment of Hilldale Mall on Madison’s west side.

Just a few years ago, Hilldale Mall was a facility that was clearly in decline. Like malls located close to downtown in many cities, it was facing stiff competition from new, peripheral development, big-box stores and other retail centers.

Prime tenants were relocating and taking their shoppers with them. The future was not bright.

Today, Hilldale is poised to become one of Madison’s most vibrant housing and retail centers. New housing, structured parking and creative retail outlets have sprung up where once there was only a vast expanse of asphalt parking surrounding the mall.

The mall is attracting new tenants and their customers. And this spring, it will become the site of the first Sundance Theater in the nation.

The development principles that sparked this remarkable turnaround are not new to those who follow development issues. Joseph Freed and Associates LLC, the Illinois firm that is leading the Hilldale redevelopment, pursued a set of New Urbanist land-use principles that breathed new life into this site.

It’s an approach that can work for any community.

Let’s start with that parking lot. The old Hilldale Mall was surrounded by a traditional ocean of asphalt. It was a poor land use for scarce urban acreage, and it caused major runoff problems for the surrounding neighborhoods.

Today, that parking lot is replaced by a mix of housing, structured parking and new retail. Attractive row-style condominiums face the street and the surrounding neighborhood.

Behind the condominiums, multistory structured parking serves residents, shoppers and employees alike. Next comes the new retail space, which is separated from the central mall building by a network of internal streets.

Future phases of the redevelopment promise to build on this success with a new grocery store, additional housing, more structured parking, office space and even a hotel. The various elements of the project are interconnected in a way that is friendly to pedestrians, bicyclists and mass transit.

Significant green space within the project is also planned for the next phase of development.

Taken as a whole, the Hilldale Mall redevelopment project is shaping up to be a textbook example of good infill development. Surface parking was replaced with higher-density, multistory structures. Retail, residential and employment land uses are all combined in a walkable, transit-friendly environment.

Infill development of this sort is a key to the future prosperity of cities and their residents. It spurs economic development and creates jobs.

From an environmental perspective, it reduces sprawl, pollution and runoff. It’s the type of development that I expect to see more of in 2007.