Purchase of farmland will bring hundreds of homes to far west side, expand Elver Park and flood control

Image credit: Veridian Homes

More than 130 acres of farmland on the City of Madison’s far west side will be redeveloped to bring hundreds of new homes, new street connections, more park land, and stormwater improvements after a land sale was finalized this week.

The land formerly owned by Marty Century Farm and located along Marty Road, Mid Town Road and Raymond Road was bought by Veridian Homes, which then simultaneously sold approximately half of that land to the City of Madison. Approximately 40 acres of the land acquired by the City will be used to expand Elver Park, while another 27 acres will be used for regional stormwater improvements and future right-of-way.

Veridian Homes plans to use the remaining land to create a new subdivision in the area between Mid Town Road and Raymond Road, bringing hundreds of new units of housing. In the final plat conditionally approved for the area, 151 lots were created for future single-family homes, 98 lots were created for 49 future two-family duplexes, and one lot was created for a future multi-family development.

The duplexes will bring much-needed "missing middle" housing to the City, providing more people with a pathway to home ownership.

The final plat also includes three outlots for additional future development, two outlots for stormwater management, and an alley outlot.

“For more than two decades, the City has been interested in portions of the land owned by the Marty family for public improvements consistent with the neighborhood plan. The City is grateful for the collaboration with Veridian and the Marty family to make this possible,” City of Madison Real Estate Services Manager Jenny Frese said.

The planned subdivision is consistent with the High Point-Raymond Neighborhood Development Plan, last revised in 2017, which recommended the area west of Marty Road for residential uses at a range of potential densities and the area east of Marty Road be used for open space and stormwater management.

In addition to the new housing and park expansion, the development of the subdivision will include the eventual rerouting of Mid Town and Raymond Roads through the subdivision, as well as the eventual connection of South High Point Road, which is currently split into two sections by the farmland. The timeline of those projects would be dependent on the progress of the subdivision development.

Future uses for the expansion of Elver Park will be determined by master planning efforts that are tentatively scheduled to begin in 2027.

Both sales – the sale of the land from Marty Century Farm to Veridian and Veridian’s sale of a portion of that land to the City of Madison -- closed on Monday, June 3. The City of Madison Common Council approved the negotiation and execution of the Purchase and Sale Agreement at its March 19, 2024 meeting.

Veridian Homes plans to begin construction on the first phase of the Midpoint Meadows subdivision this fall.