Cynthia Ward, who does grounds and janitorial work at Bayview, hugs Bayview Foundation Executive Director Alexis London, left, as she shows her daughter, Adrianna Shanklin, their new apartment for the first time on Oct. 24.
AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Once only a vision, the Bayview Foundation's $58 million redevelopment on the "The Triangle" Downtown is rising, embraced as a new home for its diverse, low-income residents and as a head-turning model for Madison.
A year ago, Bayview moved some of its residents from its 102 obsolete townhouses to an eye-catching, orangey-red, four-story building with 48 units and top floor community room at the corner of West Washington Avenue and Regent Street.
Now, the nonprofit foundation is completing an 11,500-square-foot community center — the heartbeat of Bayview — that will more than double the size of the existing worn one and open in January. There are also a 25-unit apartment building and six- and seven-unit townhouses in a bold array of colors, with residents moving in this month.
Bayview also recently attached a striking large mural titled "Hope Finds a Home", created with resident ideas and labor, to the 48-unit building.
A final phase with 44 more colorful townhouses for low-income families coming from housing waiting lists and other elements will be finished by next fall.
"It feels like we're calling out to be seen, to be validated," Bayview Executive Director Alexis London said. "Bayview was invisible. I think it's now time to be visible. To be bold. To make a statement.
"In part, Bayview's redevelopment project is about showcasing an alternative path forward for the development of affordable and subsidized housing," she said. "In our planning and implementation, we've looked to the residents to tell us what they need not just in terms of housing and services, but also in terms of their health, wellbeing and plans for the future. Through the engagement, we learned that the environment that people live and raise families in, matters a great deal."
The ambitious redevelopment of 102 antiquated townhouses and cramped community center is also nearing its funding goals.
The nonprofit has secured federal tax credits and funds from the city and Dane County to pay for the new housing, but is still $850,000 short of its $6 million private fundraising goal for the community center, the hub of services and support for Bayview families and the surrounding neighborhood.
The city and others been investing in the project for a reason, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said.
"I believe that the Bayview Foundation stands out in the way it really fosters a sense of community," the mayor said. "They provide affordable housing for residents, but they do so much more. Bayview invests in people and helps them to flourish.”
Sense of connection
The Bayview Foundation was formed in 1966 to support culturally diverse, low-income families, many of them immigrant refugees from Southeast Asia. The original townhouses were built on 6.4 acres in 1971.
Initially, Bayview's programming for children took place in an apartment unit, with the current community center built in 1985 and a second floor added in 1991. The much-used, 5,000-square-foot center has two large multipurpose classrooms, an art room and small kitchen, a limited number of offices and small courtyard.
What happens there is invaluable to Bayview's cohesion and wellbeing — at no cost to participants — that can make the difference between a low-income community struggling and thriving. Historically, 95% of Bayview's youth finish high school and 70% of families participate in programing. The community is peaceful and stable.
But the building, which hosts programming for young children, elementary school students, teens, young adults, adults and seniors, plus food access initiatives and more, isn't near big enough, program manager Nate Schorr said.
"We are practically busting at the seams with the number of programs that are happening within the center," he said.
The new community center nearing completion is intended to meet the needs of the growing Triangle neighborhood and surrounding areas. The exterior is a mix of cream brick, cedar siding and zinc plates.
As the new Bayview rises, the city is poised to move ahead with a roughly $300 million remake of its piece of the Triangle, which has Madison's biggest concentration of housing for low-income residents. The city's Community Development Authority, which owns 336 housing units at five sites and a small Asian grocery store on its 10.5 acres, intends to fully redevelop that site with an estimated 1,216 units.
"With Bayview's redevelopment and the upcoming redevelopment of CDA housing, the overall population of the Triangle will go from approximately 750 to 3,200 in the next 10 years," London said. "There will be many new families living on the Triangle, as well as more seniors, people with disabilities and individuals that have struggled with housing security and stability."
The new community center will let Bayview deliver more social services, individual and family case management, and mental health services.
"You can't just build affordable housing," housing manager Diane Eddings said. "You have to build in the social services."
The first floor will offer a reception area and lobby, multipurpose room, commercial kitchen, child multipurpose room with operable partition wall, a senior lounge, exercise room, food pantry, kitchenette, meeting room, storage space, co-working space and four offices.
On the second floor will be an art room and art studio, multipurpose room, science, math and technology and tinkering space, social worker office, teen multipurpose room, and a rooftop patio with seating.
An open design features multiple living room-like spaces for people to enjoy without being engaged in a structured program.
"Bayview's new center will double the number of children and teens participating in academic support, recreation, wellness and employment programs," London said. "We will triple the impact of food distribution by creating a dedicated, properly equipped food pantry. And we will double older adult and senior participation in daily opportunities for connection, self-expression, fitness and meals."
As important, "we intend for people to relax, rest and bump into each other," she said. "These kind of informal and brief interactions — just saying hello and checking in — build community and a sense of connection."
Dedicated to the arts
If there is a thread to that sense of connection found at Bayview, it is art.
The new apartment building at the corner of West Washington Avenue and Regent Street is one of the most prominent spots of the redevelopment, London said. And from early on, architects understood its importance to Bayview’s identity and provided space for a mural to be installed, she said.
The mural, titled "Hope Finds a Home," was designed by a team of local artists: Amy Zaremba, Alicia Rheal and Sharon Tang, who worked with over 120 Bayview residents to develop design concepts and themes and to paint the mural itself, Foundation Board President Mary Berryman Agard said.
"It symbolizes home in its many dimensions: safety, love, happiness, belonging, growth, care and hope," she said. "These ideas of home emerged from residents’ shared experiences and ideas."
The artist team and several teen interns worked with more than 100 residents to paint the mural sections on tables at the community center. Then, the artists aligned the sections, completed a last coat of paint, added finer details and sealed the work. The artist team installed the mural in more or less the same way wallpaper is applied, but on a grand scale, Berryman Agard said.
But integrating the arts is more than a single mural.
"Bayview's commitment to ensuring that all residents and community center users have access to ongoing and in-depth opportunities to make art, poetry, music and dance in a supportive and educationally focused environment will expand in the new community center," London said.
The center will have several programming spaces dedicated to the arts, including an arts classroom, maker space/hub and an artist in residence studio.
"Bayview will recruit local and regional artists — with a focus on (Black, indigenous and people of color) artists — to teach their art and craft in exchange for access to a free, private artist studio space as well as excellent wages," London said. "Youth, adults and seniors will be exposed to art forms, processes and ideas that empower them to tell their own stories, honor their cultural heritage and develop their artistic skills."
As the redevelopment progresses, Bayview is looking for community partners to finish its vision for art and placemaking and help endow its community-based Artist Residency program, Berryman Agard said, adding, "The focus on the arts contributes to the success and resiliency of the community at large."
Eager to move in
The new housing itself is a mosaic with exteriors in 13 vibrant colors and a variety of unit styles, all with high ceilings, lots of windows, new appliances including washers and dryers, fresh air ventilation, and free wi-fi. Nearly all units will have a balcony or porch with garden beds.
"Bayview residents absolutely love their townhouse units," Eddings said. "They love the privacy, individuality and neighborhood feel that townhouse-designed dwellings offer, so we knew we had to build as many townhouse units as possible.
"We also needed to create apartment units with complete accessibility for seniors wishing to age in place and people with disabilities," she said. "As seniors aged in place, many were unable to use the second floor of their townhouse due to the stairs. It was heartbreaking to see a makeshift bedroom in the living rooms of our current townhouses."
The initial move in was stressful but unfolded well, and there's now a sense of anticipation.
"It's so bright," resident Adrianna Shanklin said when she recently toured the new unit she will share with her mother, Cynthia Ward, and two siblings on the third floor of the newest apartment building. "The rooms are so much bigger. Seeing it come together is really amazing."
"I love everything about it," Ward said of her family's move from the worn townhouse they had shared for the past four years to where they will have views of the State Capitol and Lake Monona.
Xong Vang, a longtime Bayview resident who also serves as bilingual housing coordinator, was equally impressed with his two-story townhouse nearing completion that overlooks a full-sized outdoor basketball court and the community center on one side and opens to West Washington Avenue and a view of Brittingham Park on the other.
"It's really better," he said. "Very nice. It's a lot more space than what I thought it was going to be."
Bayview will have a mix of subsidized, lower-income and market rate units with the mix improving equity, diversity and inclusion, Eddings said.
So far, all of the residents moving to the new units have been living at Bayview. The idea has been to move current residents into the new buildings as they're built and then demolish the older ones so no one is displaced.
"The vibe is a lot of excitement because it is all coming together," London said. "The big feeling is, 'I can't wait to move in.'"
In the final phase, Bayview will construct 44 more colorful townhouses in six buildings on the northern part of the property, with completion slated for the fall of 2024.
There are challenges any time a large number of families comes into a new environment, especially if they have been housing insecure, London said. But they will be entering a place where families are secure and supported, she said.
"They'll be coming in to an environment that's stable, vibrant and with services," she said.
-Dean Mosiman