By Marcus Watson
Northside News
Progress on the development plan to tear down Noah’s Ark Pet Center and The Inferno nightclub to make way for a new shopping center can best be described as tentative.
The Rifken Group’s proposed plan was approved last December by the Maple Bluff Village Board, pending Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and City of Madison approval. The board also approved up to $600,000 from a possible $8.7 million tax increment financing (TIF) grant.
The major sticking point is that the land on both sides of Sherman Avenue has long been designated a “brownfield” site, a name given to land parcels with harmful environmental contaminates whose removal must follow state and federal regulations. The property at one time was home to two service stations and a dry cleaning operation. The area has a high water table, and employees of Noah’s Ark have reported that during a hard rain the floor would seep diesel fuel. But the most troublesome pollutant may have come from the dry cleaning operation.
“That kind of business leaves behind chlorinated solvents,” said Brynn Bemis of the city engineers office. “We have bugs, microbes actually, that can break down petroleum distillates. But these solvents must be removed manually and land filled. It can be a costly process.”
The property is currently under a Cap Maintenance Plan order from the DNR. This means any future construction must have a soil, asphalt or concrete seal over the contaminated area. This complicates any proposal for underground parking because all contaminates and subterranean fuel storage tanks must be removed before any construction can begin.
These issues have forced the developers to seek extra funding. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) has tentatively approved a $391,784 brownfield grant for environmental site work expenditures that will be incurred on a commercial development located at 601 N. Sherman Ave. and 1718 Commercial Ave. The funds would go to Lakewood Plaza II, LLC, a corporation founded in September 2014 and managed by Robert Lehmann, who owns the property next to the development and is a partner in The Rifken Group.
An overview of the process indicates this timeline. First, WEDC approval. Next, the DNR and City of Madison must sign off on the project. Then, final approval from the Maple Bluff Village Board, followed by the required notice to existing tenants that they must vacate in 90 days. It seems even the most optimistic outcome would push the start of construction to late summer.
This property was annexed by Maple Bluff in July 2006 with hopes of a much larger development. Almost 10 years later, the planning goes on.