By Anita Weier
Northside News
A beloved old song describes green fields, kissed by the sun.
Northsiders have grown used to seeing two green fields filled with corn, soybeans and some wild turkeys. But both will likely soon be replaced by buildings and the people who live and work in them.
The Rifkin Group plans to develop 61 acres of the former Raemisch Farm property between Lake View Elementary School on the south, the Whitetail Ridge neighborhood on the north, Sherman Avenue on the west and Packers Avenue on the east.
The plan would include multifamily housing, offices and commercial buildings — including a grocery and restaurants — along Packers Avenue, as well as row housing with rental units along North Sherman Avenue. The development would also include lots for townhouses and single-family homes. A street would enter the property from Packers Avenue.
The site, currently zoned for agriculture, was recently annexed by Madison from the Town of Burke.
Marty Rifkin told the Wisconsin State Journal that there is a need for more single-family lots on the Northside, and that parks, walking trails and expanded bus service also are needed.
The other development planned for the Northside would be on 29 acres at Wheeler Road and Packers Avenue, south of Wheeler and west of Packers. Dubbed “Union at Madison,” the proposal by The Annex Group of Indianapolis, Ind., would be an affordable housing development including multiple housing types. The 315 housing units would include two 60-unit buildings, nine 16-unit buildings, three 6-unit buildings and 33 townhouse units. South stormwater basins, a community center and below-grade garage parking are planned.
The developer stresses that plans are conceptual designs that will likely change after input from the City of Madison and Northside residents. The site is located in the Town of Burke but would be annexed into Madison.
Input received at a virtual public meeting in June focused mainly on expected traffic problems. Several noted that the intersection of Wheeler Road and CV is treacherous during the morning commute time. Stop lights would be needed at the very least, one person said. Others criticized plans that an exit to Sherman Avenue would be through Whitetail Ridge. Lack of emergency service access was noted.
Another focus was the large number of people living there. With two or three per household, the development could house 900 people. Still others questioned the fact that children living at Union at Madison would go to school in DeForest, although children at Whitetail Ridge attend Madison Schools.
Concerns at a prior public meeting included lack of bus service and the concentration of lower income residents.
District 18 Alder Rebecca Kemble said she is concerned about potential stormwater and traffic problems, as well as airport noise pollution, especially with the anticipated arrival of the F-35s. “It’s also not a good situation when kids who live in these subdivisions would not go to the same schools as their neighbors,” she added.