The Rest of the Picture

We have argued all along that one of the advantages of the Fiore-Irgens development proposal is that it will "look good from all four sides of the block." And we have provided views of our project from all angles to support that assertion.

At the last Central Library Disposal Committee, we were finally provided a copy of the "rear elevation" for the proposed library development by T.Wall. (This had not been included in the RFP response ... for reasons quite apparent.)

I gave this elevation to our architects and asked them to illustrate the view from West Washington if the T.Wall building is constructed. Here's how it will look from Capitol West:


The material for this rear wall was described by the T.Wall team as "cement block." (At least the windowless wall at the AT&T Building is constructed of quality building material!)

So, which developer's vision do you think will create more value downtown? The T.Wall plan above?

Or the Fiore-Irgens plan shown below?


Only one proposal provides a comprehensive and integrated plan for this block. The Fiore-Irgens development plan will create more economic value from day one - and substantially more value for the community over the long-term.

Our Funding Plan

We understand that the City of Madison issued its RFP for a new library with a "budget in mind" of $30 million. This cost was to be funded with:

• $16 million of City financing (tax-exempt municipal bonds)
  $ 4 million proceeds from sale of existing library site
  $10 million from private section donations
  

However, both new library proposals are in the neighborhood of $40 million - well over the simple cost estimate. And to further complicate matters, the Madison Public Library Foundation seems to be unsure about its ability to raise more than $10 million in donations in order to contribute to this gap.

We have suggested a plan to the City of Madison that would bridge the funding gap by utilizing federal financing subsidies. Our alternate financing plan utilizes two different subsidies: 1) New Markets Tax Credits and 2) bond financing using Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds or Build America Bonds.

In simple terms, this financing structure would allow the City to get $25.5 million of building for the same annual cost (or less) that would be incurred for $16 million without these federal programs. The New Markets Tax Credits would be structured to provide $8-10 million of "equity" to the Library - meaning that only $15.5 to $17.5 million would need to be repaid by the City.

Block 66 - the library block - is within a high-priority Qualifying Census Tract for New Markets Tax Credits. To learn more about New Markets Tax Credits, please visit www.cdfifund.gov/what_we_do/programs_id.asp?programID=5.

The Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds are authorized under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009. The Federal government will subsidize 45% of the interest on these bonds. Recovery Zone Bonds may only be issued until December 31, 2010.

What is a Library Worth?

At the last meeting of the Central Library Disposal Surplus Property Criteria Selection Committee, City Comptroller Dean Brasser mentioned that the City of Madison currently subsidizes the operating budget for the Madison Public Library System by $11 million annually. This translates into an annual cost to the city's taxpayers of $50 per capita.

If the City issues 20-year municipal bonds to finance $16 million of new library construction, this budget subsidy is estimated to increase by $1.2 million (or $5 per capita).

However, this modest increase in the library budget need not be borne by the taxpayer. If the investment creates new private development, the taxable property generates new tax revenues that will offset this cost.

Under our proposal, the new hotel, retail and parking facility is expected to generate an average of $2 million per year of property and room taxes (and more than $1.2 million in year one.) This represents a net benefit to the taxpayers.

In contrast, if the existing library is simply repaired for $16 million, no new tax base is created and the remodeled library will represent a new net cost to the taxpayers.

I've read a number of reports about the economic return from public libraries suggesting a return of $4 - $5 for every dollar spent... So libraries may well be one of the most productive investments that the public can make!

Curious for more? Here are some links you may appreciate:

Public Libraries - A Wise Investment - a return on investment study by the Colorado Public Library. I would guess that our community's relationship with the library may be consistent with these interesting survey results.

The Economic Contribution of Wisconsin Public Libraries to the Economy of Wisconsin by Northstar Economics. The title says it all.

Development Context

I walked around Block 66 with my camera to provide location context to our proposal for a new Central Public Library...

The corner of Fairchild and State Street. Overture Center for the Arts on the left.

View up Fairchild. We propose that the new library enjoy transparent window bays extending over the sidewalk similar to this element at Overture.

The existing Central Library is out-of-scale with surrounding uses and underutilizes its site.

View west down Mifflin Street. Overture Center on right. After the library moves into its new facility, Fiore-Irgens will purchase the old library site for slightly more than $4 million. We plan to build new hotel and retail facilities, with internal parking for up to 400 vehicles.

We expect new hotel and parking facilities on the existing library site to catalzye redevelopment on the 100 Block of West Mifflin. These storefronts have been vacant for almost 10 years.

The existing Central Library building presents an "unfriendly" pedestrian streetscape. View west from Fairchild Avenue to Mifflin Street

Network222 is a 190,000 sq ft Class-A office building owned and managed by The Fiore Companies. It is one of the most connected and fiber-rich buildings in the state and is served by fully underground dual-circuit power grid. These technology advantages will all be available to the new library.

Corner of Fairchild and West Washington. View northeast toward Capitol Building.

Corner of Fairchild and West Washington. View southwest toward Bassett Neighborhood.

View down West Washington Avenue from Capitol Square

Network222 in center. New library site to left (behind tree)

Site of proposed new library. The single story structure will be removed, but existing foundations and structure support will be re-used.

Property across Henry Street from new library. These historic structures create a welcome setback from the SBC Building.


View southeast toward Lake Monona from Henry Street. Capitol West condominiums and Capitol Lakes retirement community on right.


View west from Mifflin and Henry Street. Currently, another "pedestrian-hostile" streetscape. We envision sidewalk cafes...

Overture Lobby as viewed from the proposed new hotel lobby.