Affordable Housing: The Reservoir
Owner/Developer
Madison Mutual Housing Association
Architect
Design Coalition, Inc
Landscape Architect
Vandewalle and Associates
Contractor
Connery Building Corp.
Density
18 units/acre
Development Type
New construction rental flats and townhouses, 4 barrier-free units;
and historic preservation of former "livery".
Resident Profile
Mixed-income, mixed-age, mixed able and disabled persons; 25%
low-income, 50% moderate-income, 25% market-rate.
Development Profile
Community/laundry. 1 for each 4-unit building; MHA offices
community/kitchen/off rehabed livery
Courtyard/play: one for older kids, one for younger kids; raised
garden beds for wheelchair bound
Parking: 20 surface
Total site area: 67,082 sf(1.54 acres)
Construction Site
Two-story wood frame, horizontal siding, composition shingle
roof
Costs
Land Cost: $240,000 construction Costs: $1,987,368; Other
Costs: $207,282;
Total Development Cost: $2,434,650 ($86,952/unit). (Completed 1988)
| Funders | Type |
| City of Madison, Community Development Authority | Loan |
| Madison Mutual Housing Association | Equity |
| Wisconsin Housing and Econonic Development | Loan |
| City of Madison, CDBG-UDAG | Loan |
| Tax Increment Funds |
The Reservoir is a resident-managed,
limited equity cooperative designed for families, and singles.
It consists of 28 units arranged in two-story flats and attached
townhouses, with a number of units specifically designed to accommodate
people with disabilities. The density of 20 units per acre matches
that of surrounding neighborhood as do the street setbacks, roof
shapes, building widths, bay windows, and building materials.
Wood construction was used throughout except for the historic
brick livery stable on the site, which was retained and remodeled
to contain two apartments, a laundry and meeting space for the
complex. Buildings were grouped to provide the largest possible
back yards, community gardens, and two playgrounds. Two parking
lots are located within short walking distances of the units so
that cars do not dominate the site. In respect to security, all
parts of the site are visible from within the units, and the residents
supervise the commons as communal space.
The City of
Madison owned the site and offered it to developers who would
meet the city's development and design criteria, which became
strong determinants of the site planning and design. The nonprofit
owner-architect team, Madison Mutual Housing Association (MMHA)
and Design Coalition, Inc., were required to compete with for
profit developers. The site was six blocks from the state Capitol
and the downtown business district between and underutilized industrial
area with a rail corridor and a neighborhood occupied by working
class and student population. Subsequently the use of the marshy
site as a landfill for building materials made it necessary to
excavate the site and haul in new soil. The new housing not only
made a positive use of long vacant land but also sparked rehabilitation
efforts on adjacent blocks. In the last five years for profit
developers have added about 150 more units both in rehabilitated
warehouses and new construction. At the outset, community support
was divided--the antagonists outnumbered the advocates. The development
faced strong opposition because neighborhood residents were concerned
about the effect on the neighborhood of the families with low
incomes who would move in. This situation changed during the design
process to which the owner invited opponents to The Reservoir,
residents of the Mutual Housing Association's other coops, representatives
from local nonprofit serving older adults and persons with disabilities,
and neighborhood residents. The two major changes that neighborhood
concern brought about were the reduction of units from 40 to 28
and more parking. Susan Hobart, former executive director of the
Madison Mutual Housing Association, believes that the additional
months of planning committee meetings were key to the eventual
acceptance of The Reservoir, and improved the overall buildings
and site design.
Lou Host-Jablonski,
one of Design Coalition's architects, commented that, "in
my experience much more thought, and care, and energy was lavished
on the The Reservoir than is typical of conventional, market-rate
housing. The latter is typically easier because it attempts little
that is new. In fill affordable housing projects like this one
present a more complicated political context, financial complications
such as many sources of funds, overlapping and sometimes conflicting
requirements, tight deadlines, and greater scrutiny by the community
and governing officials. The Reservoir could not have been accomplished
without a strong, committed and clear-minded client".