EPA Says Kipp is Polluting the Air

Courtesy: Eastsidehistory.wordpress.com

Madison Kipp Corporation, already dealing with below ground pollution, is facing new charges from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that its polluting the air.

The EPA says the Kipp is underestimating emissions of pollutants that can cause cancer, birth defects, and liver damage. Kipp is also alleged to have not properly calibrated their monitoring equipment and not maintained proper records.

In a report by NBC 15, Kipp pushed back on the allegations saying that they agency is not properly interpreting the over 3,000 documents they have submitted for review. The two sides will meet in 30 days.

View a NBC 15 video report here

 

Two Union Corners Proposals Now on ‘Short List’

Gorman and Livesey plans lead the way

Plans from Livesey Co./Stone House Development along with Gorman & Associates are under final consideration for the Union Corners development.

The City of Madison Union Corners Committee held a public hearing Wednesday evening (Sept 12) on the four remaining proposals for development of the Union Corners site. The committee voted to “short list” two of the proposal from Livesey-Stone House Development and Gorman Associates.

The next step is for city staff to conduct a basic preliminary financial review of each proposal. Following that review the UCC will decide what the next steps will be.

Related: C.D. Smith / EUA Withdraws Union Corners Proposal

Related: Where the Sidewalk Ends

 

C.D. Smith / EUA Withdraw Union Corners Proposal

The C.D. Smith Construction/Eppstein Uhen Architects proposal includes a plan for a grocery store. EUA also designed the Goodman Community Center.

In an email to City of Madison officials C.D. Smith Vice-President Mike Krolczyk said the firm was withdrawing their proposal for Union Corners due to “specific market conditions” and other opportunities they were pursuing.

C.D. Smith partnered with Eppstein Uhen Architects (EUA) on their proposal which included a grocery store as part of the retail component of the site, however the plan did not depart much from a 2004 plan that failed before ground was ever broken. EUA has history in the neighborhood as just over the hill to the east of Union Corners is the recently redesigned Goodman Community Center, which was an EUA project.

Union Corners had been dying a slow death for decades as businesses struggled to exist on that corner and Ray-O-Vac’s manufacturing plant faded away. In 2010 the city purchased the site for $3.57 million and issued an RFP in June. The remaining proposals vary in cost, topping out at $108 million with public assistance requests as much as $15 million, which the Mayor said may be difficult to provide.

With C.D. Smith / EUA dropping out only the team of Livesey / Stonehouse remains to present to the Union Corners Committee which will take place August 29. A public hearing on the four active proposals is on September 12, 2012 at 5 p.m at the Madison Senior Center.

Related: Where the Sidewalk Ends

Hudson Park Rehab Begins Sept. 3

Project will bring better lake access for swimmers and light watercraft

Hudson Beach decades ago was a popular spot, and could be again with a construction project that will improve lake access for swimmers and light watercraft.

Hudson Park is an idyllic yet somewhat unknown part of the picturesque route along Lakeland avenue that skirts Lake Monona. Stretching for several blocks, it hugs the shoreline and provides a shortcut for exercise devotees; but has one treasured feature, the native american effigy mounds located in two separate sections of the park.

The park is also home to Hudson beach, except unless you walked right up to the water you would not have known it. The beach, located between Hudson and Miller Avenues, has some sand followed by an uneven stone wall that leads to maybe five feet of beach below at the waters edge.

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Potential Union Corners Developers to Give Presentations

Developers to take questions about proposals

Following a meeting on August 6 to score the five proposals for development of Union Corners, a second meeting will be held August 15. At this meeting the developers who have submitted proposals will be given 15 minutes each for a presentation and time will also be made for questions from the public.

The session will be held for 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Goodman Community Center. The results of both meetings will be compiled and presented to the selection committee for consideration as the process moves forward.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Five proposals for Union Corners redevelopment revealed

Union Corners has been vacant for quite some time but the City sees its redevelopment as one of the crown jewels of resurrecting the Capitol East corridor. Many of the plans submitted for the site include using the bricks (left) from the French Battery Company plant that used to reside on a portion of the site.


Everyone wants Union Corners developed. Once the location of a Kohl’s food store and the French Battery Company plant, it has sat grass-covered and empty for years. Now five proposals have been submitted in response to the City’s recent Request For Proposal and the vetting process begins.

We have been down this road before, McGrath Associates had an approved plan with neighborhood support for mostly residential buildings in 2004 but the economic downturn derailed the project by 2007. Union Corners had been dying a slow death for decades as businesses struggled to exist on that corner and Ray-O-Vac’s manufacturing plant faded away. In 2010 the city purchased the site for $3.57 million and issued an RFP in June.

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