To commuters, this stretch of waterfront along John Nolen Drive between Olin Park and Willy Street is a daily companion during the drive to and from work.
To pedestrians, the waterfront is a place to run, bike, and gaze across the water to the lights of downtown in the distance.
But three design teams are hoping to transform this 1.7 mile stretch of lakeshore that marks one of Madison’s first impressions on visitors.
Of the 14 entries submitted by the start of May last year, only 3 remain. These finalists presented their initial concepts back in November, but tonight is the first time the public will get the chance to see the designs in depth.
The three finalists were tasked with creating designs that emphasize community, equity, environmental health, and transportation, while also preserving Lake Monona’s cultural history and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural legacy.
These designs represent years of work on behalf of the Friends of Nolen Waterfront, a private non-profit organization, and a city committee of community members. Both share the goal of transforming the Monona waterfront into a cultural landmark for Madison.
In an interview with WORT last month, committee member Chandra Fienen Miller described the selection process for the three finalists.
“Actually we were quite constrained in the priorities, which helped us, because it is a city contract that the three finalists will get. And so we had to abide by the sitting contracting principles, judge them across those criteria, and then we came together, we talked to each one of them again, we had an open, public, meeting, and we narrowed it down to five. And then we did that from five –we did interviews with the teams, I think we did them in the process of less than two weeks– and then we selected the three going forward,” Fienen Miller said.
These designs are radically different from each other. But all would significantly change the look of the current landscape.
One proposal – from international design firm Sasaki – proposes emphasizing the preservation of native ecology, and would feature rain gardens, walking and bike paths decorated with artwork and quotes, as well as a community center. The most notable feature of this design is an elevated boardwalk-slash-nature trail circling over the water near Olin Park.
A second design proposal – from the women-owned firm Agency Landscape & Planning – would restore the shoreline habitat for wildlife, and would develop the land into three ‘districts’. These would include areas for fitness and community activities, an interpretive boardwalk trail open to bikes and pedestrians, and an area for water activities like swimming and fishing.
And a third design proposal – this time from James Corner Field Operations of New York – would split the land into four parks centered around different piers. These piers would feature everything from beaches, restaurants, and outdoor venues to nature centers, and would be connected to the surrounding areas of the city by tree-lined boulevards to improve lake health and water quality.
When speaking with WORT last month, Fienen Miller described the selection process after tonight’s public meeting.
“Committee members will be there, and then it will launch what I believe is an eight-week public input process where we’re really working on ‘how do we get as much public input from the community about what they like, what they don’t like?’ Because these are still preliminary, because there’s the Master Challenge process. And then from that, the committee will select a finalist who will get the contract to proceed forward with the Master Plan design,” said Fienen Miller.
This Master Plan is the goal of better connecting downtown with the lakefront and Olin Park, of which the John Nolen redevelopment is a part.
So far, the city has already spent $225 thousand paying these contractors. Another $200 thousand will go to the contractor who wins the final design.
And the whole project, from design to finish, could cost as much as $250 million, reports the Wisconsin State Journal.
Presentations on the three designs started at 6pm at Madison Central Library.
You can watch the meeting, virtually, too at media.cityofmadison.com.
Reporting for WORT news, I’m Erin Ashley.
Image Courtesy: WORT / Flickr