City Receives Two Updated Responses to the Judge Doyle Square Request for Proposals

On Tuesday, January 19, the City received two updated responses to its Request for Proposals ("RFP") to develop Judge Doyle Square. The project will be located on a two-block area in downtown Madison encompassing Block 88, behind the Madison Municipal Building, and across South Pinckney Street on Block 105, the current site of City’s Government East parking garage. The project will unite the vibrant Capitol Square and the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center with a significant mixed-use development opportunity potentially comprised of commercial, hotel, residential, retail and restaurant uses combined with parking and bicycle facilities, including the replacement of the Government East public parking ramp.

On November 17, 2015, the Common Council authorized the next steps in the Judge Doyle Square development process. Consistent with the Common Council’s earlier direction of May 19, 2015, the City invited the three teams (Beitler Real Estate Services Joint Venture of Chicago, IL; Doyle Square Development LLC, a joint venture of Urban Land Interests and the North Central Group of Middleton, WI; and Vermilion Enterprises LLC of Chicago, Il) that had submitted development proposals on May 1, 2015 to update their proposals since the exclusive negotiations with the fourth team, JDS Development LLC and Exact Sciences of Madison, WI, had concluded.

The Common Council also directed the City Negotiating Team to solicit confirmation from the three remaining development teams that they remained interested in their respective project proposals and to invite the three teams to make any desired revisions to the their respective proposals and address the City’s required elements. Changes were to be submitted to the City by January 19, 2016, at 2pm.

The following teams submitted updates to their proposals and remain interested in developing the Judge Doyle Square project:

1. Beitler Real Estate Services Joint Venture of Chicago, IL proposes to build a 621 stall parking garage to replace the Government East public parking ramp and 31,000 square feet of retail, food court, commercial and bicycle center on Block 88. A 252-room hotel, plus a 210-unit apartment building with 306 parking stalls to serve both uses is proposed for Block 105. The total project cost is estimated at $126.0 million. Of that amount, $26.0 million would be the City’s responsibility to replace the Government East public parking ramp and create the retail/commercial space on Block 88. The developer is not seeking any City financial assistance for the Block 105 components.

2. Vermilion Enterprises, LLC of Chicago, IL proposes a 279-room Marriott hotel on Block 88 with ancillary restaurant and retail facilities. The proposal includes a 125-unit apartment building and a 94,000 square foot office facility with an additional 13,000 square feet of retail and bicycle facilities on Block 105. A total of 1108 parking stalls, including 639 stalls to replace the Government East public parking ramp, are proposed for Blocks 88 and 105. The estimated total cost of the project is $199.0 million. Public financing for the parking is estimated at $49.0 million and no City financial assistance is proposed for the other components of the project.

Doyle Square Development, LLC, a joint venture of Urban Land Interests of Madison, WI submitted a letter indicating that it "has thus far not been able to secure a commitment from a new hotel partner willing to advance the project under the terms the City has currently set forth."

The Common Council further directed that the City Negotiating Team complete an initial review of all revised proposals and meet with the Board of Estimates and Common Council to obtain direction for future actions by the end of February 2016.

The Board of Estimates will make the final selection and recommendation for the Common Council’s consideration. The RFP specifies that the City may reject or accept proposals at its own discretion, and holds the right to independently negotiate the final terms of the project.

The history of the project, the goals for the development, the current RFP, as well as the proposal responses can be found in the Gallery section on the Judge Doyle Square website at: www.cityofmadison.com/planning/judgedoylesquare/.

Links

• Judge Doyle Square