Brownfield Redevelopment and Job Creation

In 1998, as a result of growing population in the county outside the City of Madison, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recognized Dane County as an "Urban County." Urban County status entitled Dane County to annual allocations of federal funds in the form of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME. The main purpose of CDBG and HOME funds is to create housing and community development opportunities for low- and moderate-income residents.

The largest concentration of low- to moderate-income residents in the county, outside the City of Madison, is in the Town of Madison; an unincorporated area on the southern border of the City. A fourth of families in the Town of Madison had incomes below the poverty line (2000 census), compared to only five percent countywide.

As an Urban County, Dane County assumed some responsibility for using the new federal funding to improve conditions for residents in low-income areas. In 2000, the County used it's CDBG funds to award a BUILD grant to the Town of Madison to prepare a plan to revitalize its low-income areas. The revitalization plan was developed to meet HUD standards for what it calls Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Areas (NRSAs). Areas approved by HUD as NRSAs receive special funding priority.

The Town hired Planning and Design Institute (PDI) to conduct the planning process. The process included a detailed inventory of housing, transportation, demographic, economic and community assets. Three community workshops allowed resident participation in the planning process.

The analysis and community input was synthesized into the primary issues, challenges and opportunities facing the Town. The study identified the single-family housing stock as a strength, but in need of rehabilitation. A vacant site of a former fly ash and construction landfill, located along the beltline highway presented an opportunity for commercial redevelopment. And the under-utilized properties on Park Street at the Beltline were opportunities for redevelopment.

The final NRSA plan recommended redevelopment of the landfill site along the lines proposed by a developer. To further increase infill development potential, it recommended transportation improvements to E. Badger Road. It recommended housing rehabilitation and infill housing in the predominantly single-family section. It also recommended redevelopment for Park Street properties.

The Town of Madison NRSA plan was approved by the Town, by Dane County and by HUD in 2001. Dane County then worked to implement the NRSA plan in three ways. First, the County worked with organizations it funds, with CDBG and HOME, to increase homeowner assistance to the Town of Madison. As a result, the Dane County Housing Authority concentrated almost half of their downpayment assistance to lower income families buying their first homes in the Town of Madison. Project Home provided home rehabilitation assistance to low or moderate-income homeowners in the Town. And Operation Fresh Start rehabilitated two homes in the Town, while providing construction training for at-risk youth.

Second, the County awarded a second planning grant, through the BUILD program, in 2002 to conduct a further analysis of 10 potential redevelopment or infill development sites. The resulting study used market, site, ownership, and transportation data to prioritize the sites, and it prepared concept plans for redevelopment.

Third, Dane County applied for, and received a $370,000 Economic Development Initiative (EDI) grant, and a $1.2 million Section 108 loan from HUD. The grant and loan support the economic development component of the NRSA - the E. Badger Road Redevelopment Project. The EDI grant supports an employment training center and tenant build-out in the first building of the Novation Technology Campus. The Novation Technology Campus is a redevelopment of the former 55-acre landfill site by The Alexander Company. The first phase of the project includes four 55,000 square foot "technology" buildings, and retail and office space, valued at approximately $30 million.

The Section 108 loan is a tool that CDBG "entitlement" communities, such as Urban Counties, can borrow funds from HUD for economic development projects, using future CDBG grants as collateral. Of the $1.2 million Section 108 loan awarded to the County, $500,000 was earmarked for financing assistance to the second technology building in the Novation Campus. The remaining $700,000 will be awarded to the Town of Madison (as a part loan and part grant) to extend E. Badger road from where it currently dead ends, to connect to Highway 14. The road extension will open up another five acres of vacant land - presently inaccessible by road, for commercial infill development.
 

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Last Modified: September 17th, 2004