The community center is part of a massive redevelopment of the Bayview Townhomes which includes the demolition of the existing apartments there and construction of a number of new buildings, pictured in this rendering.
It's part of a larger reconstruction project for the entire affordable housing complex, a rendering of which is shown above.
Plans for a new community center in Bayview received a $150,000 boost from the Madison Community Foundation on Tuesday.
The funds will go toward the nearly 12,000 square foot community center that the Bayview Foundation is constructing on the site of Bayview Townhomes, across from Brittingham Park at 601 Bay View Drive.
The community center is part of a massive redevelopment of the Bayview Townhomes which includes the demolition of the existing apartments there and construction of a number of new buildings.
Bayview is one of Madison’s oldest and most diverse housing complexes and is home to a large population of southeast Asian, Hmong, Latinx, and Black residents. The residents played a key role in the design of the redevelopment.
“The two-year investment in resident engagement was critical,” said Alexis London, executive director of the Bayview Foundation. “Taking a community-building, focused approach with understanding the needs of the residents and doing that prior to any of the development or design work was important.”
London feels like the level of community engagement the foundation did with residents prior to even conceptualizing the redevelopment is a model for how development should be done in Madison.
“That led to the creation of values that got integrated into the site plan, and I think that’s really unique,” London said.
The money the Madison Community Foundation contributed will all be used for the new community center, but beyond just the physical building.
Bayview wants the site to be a representation of the needs and values of the community around it. They are planning a large community garden where residents can grow food. Additionally, Bayview wants to create a sort-of campus wi-fi that will provide technical stability for residents, too.
“There will be about 7,000 square feet of growing space that will become an extension of our community center programming,” London said. “What became really evident to us is residents need growing space because they need that food to feed their families during winter months.”
Inside of the community center there will be dedicated youth classrooms. They will have a full-sized commercial kitchen for the public to use, a small fitness room, multi-purpose rooms for center program or neighborhood meetings and an art studio where an artist-in-residence will be able to use the space.
London said they expect to complete the construction of the first building, a 48-unit apartment building, in August.
Once that building is up and running they will demolish two other buildings on the site and construct a 25-unit apartment building and the new community center in the same phase of construction.
“We’re expecting the community center will be finished by 2023,” London said.
Bayview provides affordable housing for over 90% of its residents, according to news reports previously published by the Cap Times. The total redevelopment of the site will include the 48-unit, four-story apartment building; a 25-unit, three-story apartment building; 57 two-story townhouses and the community center.
The Bayview Foundation is about a year into its capital campaign, which is focused on raising money for the community center and related costs, such as providing services for residents. The financing for the apartment buildings and townhouses has already been achieved through WHEDA tax credits, and financing from Dane County and the city of Madison.
“At the heart of the city, Bayview is doubling the size of their community center and greatly increasing their impact and resources for the area,” said Tom Litchfield, the Madison Community Foundation’s vice president of community impact, in a statement. “This is a unique model of affordable housing, K-12 education, elder-care, and community gathering space. Madison Community Foundation is thrilled to be part of such an exciting and forward-thinking project.”
London said Bayview will continue to raise money in the capital campaign for at least another year.
“We’ve been at it a little less than a year and the momentum has just been building over the past 11 months,” London said. “I think that members of the public are seeing the value of this project. This is really resonating with people.”