By Barbara Ballinger |
Every building project reflects a journey, no matter its size: materials, design, site and climate challenges. The trajectory for completion of one student-housing project is estimated at more than three years.
Rarely does a vision for a new building come together without challenges. Rezoning, entitlements and permits may be needed, and changes may be sought for architecture, units and amenities if the demographic and various stakeholder interests evolve from the initial target.
Putting together all the pieces to plan and get the project underway doesn’t often progress in a straight line. But understanding as much as possible from the start helps lessen problems, delays, revisions and cost overruns.
How developer and investment firm CRG has navigated its journey to build the Chapter Mifflin community near the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, not far from the state capitol in the popular Mifflin neighborhood, offers lessons in how it paid attention to area housing needs, its history and what matters most to community civic leaders and residents in the built environment.
The following are the major stages CRG went through to get the building to completion—one of its three new student housing projects that broke ground in 2025. Opening is anticipated for the 2027-28 academic year with pre-leasing planned for this summer.
Inspiration
Two years ago, CRG opened Chapter Madison, its first purpose-built student housing property (PBSH), also in Madison. The 10-story, market-rate, mixed-use building stands near the East Campus Mall in the city’s Greenbush neighborhood. Even before it opened in fall 2024, it achieved 100% lease-up, making CRG aware that student housing demand remained robust in the market due to the university’s growing enrollment and scarcity of developable land near campus. “The demand for quality student housing has never been stronger,” says J.J. Smith, CRG Partner and Executive Vice President.
Encore
Before Chapter Madison was completed, a broker approached CRG with the opportunity to purchase eight contiguous parcels between West Mifflin Street and West Washington Avenue, half a mile northeast of Chapter Madison, six blocks from the campus and in an established residential neighborhood of mostly older single-family, duplex or triplex homes that many owners rented to students. Alder Mike Verveer, who has served in that position for 31 years, describes the Mifflin neighborhood as diverse, with many long-time permanent residents and students and fewer commercial and university-owned buildings than the area where Chapter Madison was built. “The area in Mifflin was originally lived in by working class people, many of whom worked on the nearby railroad yards,” he says.
Land purchases
CRG completed the purchase of the eight lots in February 2024 and moved forward with a proposal for a follow-up project in the market given the strong demand for new housing. Two key lessons the firm mastered from its prior development were the importance of working through the community process with city and neighborhood groups and developing a unit and amenity program that took cues from the most successful elements of Chapter Madison, says CRG’s Alison Mills, Senior Vice President of Development. While working through the initial concept in April 2024, CRG expanded the site assemblage to include two additional lots, acquired that summer. With the property expanded to 1.5 acres, there was room for more beds and the project’s efficiency improved.
Early planning
During the initial stage, CRG and its architectural team, Lamar Johnson Collaborative (LJC), a subsidiary of CRG’s parent company, Clayco, envisioned a six-story, market-rate building with 162 furnished units and 516 beds for undergrads and grads, popular amenities and a large outdoor space. “Even with a robust development pipeline of near-campus housing communities, housing supply has not kept up with enrollment growth,” Mills says.
Historical influence
CRG and LJC considered West Mifflin Street’s rich history and the city of Madison’s 2012 Downtown Plan as they added details for the building and its streetscape. The area became famous in 1969 for its annual Mifflin Street Block Party, which started as part of a Vietnam War protest and morphed into a larger, university-wide annual celebration. Six years ago, the city launched its Mifflandia Plan to create a workable way to engage neighborhood residents and maintain the neighborhood’s culture and vibrancy.
Using surveys, Alder Verveer, the city’s Department of Planning, Community & Economic Development and Capitol Neighborhoods Inc., a coalition of downtown neighborhood groups, learned that residents understood the need for more new housing due to the university’s increase in enrollment and would approve a single building taller than the existing houses, which would be demolished due to their disrepair.
Building Concept
CRG sought approval for a six-story building with the top two floors set back to fit into its neighborhood of older homes with porches and historic trees in alignment with the Mifflandia Plan. Mills and LJC architect Max Komnenich, AIA, Associate Principal, felt the site’s irregular shape called for a long footprint. “We felt it important to design the facade so it did not read as one massive, continuous exterior that would overwhelm its surroundings,” Komnenich says. The proposed design became a series of three connected masses with a mix of materials—brick, fiber cement panels, wood and metal—and red and gray colors, and front porches and terraces to mimic what had been an integral part of the older homes.
The Urban Design Commission helped guide the choice and placement of materials. “The aim was to make sure it would feel like it belongs in the neighborhood rather than be a monolithic block that got dropped there,” Mills says. Units would vary from studios to five bedrooms with some popular plans from Chapter Madison repeated. Because of the building’s square footage and large acreage, amenities will be generous to support residents’ preferences and include a gym, individual and shared study spaces, community lounge areas, outdoor area with conversation pit and hot tub, bocce court, grilling and dining areas, green roofs at the fourth level for sustainability and a garage with underground parking and EV charging stations. The interior aesthetic will reflect a mid-century modern feel, inspired by the area’s early housing stock.
Neighborhood meeting input
Located on the border of the Mifflin and Bassett neighborhoods, long-time residents involved in the community shared ideas and concerns from the start with the developer, architects and members of the city during 13 community group meetings over the course of a year. “This was a very engaged group that is passionate about the area, whether it’s the trees, residents’ ability to walk, maintenance of what was to be built and future development. There were more meetings than we expected,” says Komnenich. Mills agreed, “Residents are attached to the neighborhood’s history and protective of its future.”
Timeline for milestones
January 2024. The first meeting took place after the developer and architectural team attended a pre-application meeting, even before CRG purchased land. The project would require a conditional use permit within the existing zoning district. “This process allows a large project to move forward after Planning Commission approval when it meets the city’s and local neighborhood plan’s required standards and conditions,” Mills says.
February 2024. CRG purchased eight parcels.
March 2024. CRG sought input to design a community with a massing concept that fits the surroundings and complies with Madison’s zoning code and Mifflandia Plan.
April 2024. CRG worked with the Madison Development Assistance Team to complete technical reviews with fire, forestry, parks and other city departments that needed to be consulted.
May–August 2024. CRG acquired two additional lots and expanded the project to accommodate the larger footprint and additional units and beds.
August–September 2024. CRG continued to meet with neighborhood groups for feedback and make project updates. The biggest concern from residents was surrounding the neighborhood character of West Washington Avenue. West Washington is busy with vehicular and pedestrian traffic and lined with a mature allée of trees, and it was important to maintain the tree canopy and safe pedestrian access. The development team decided to relocate a driveway ramp for the proposed underground garage from West Washington to the West Mifflin Street side. That change meant no vehicles would interrupt pedestrian traffic on West Washington and allowed a 30-foot-long uninterrupted terrace setback on the West Washington side. “Moving the garage would make that part of the design harder to build but better for the overall look,” Verveer says. The main entry door to the building on the West Mifflin side has an elevated patio and big glass wall to offer a more open social welcome to students and visitors while the door on Washington is more private in keeping with the avenue’s parkway feel. CRG submitted the full land use and design application in September.
October 2024. CRG went before the Landmarks Commission to review demolition plans.
November 2024. The Planning Commission approved the land use application. CRG began work on permit drawings.
September 2025. CRG obtained all permits and broke ground. “All approvals were unanimous. It was a seamless, noncontroversial project, much shorter and easier than many we’ve worked on because the city was involved from the start and wanted this building and neighbors were also on board,” Verveer says.
Pedestrian-friendly bonus
In keeping with the Mifflandia Plan, the revamped design with the relocated garage entry permitted the architects to introduce an important public path around and through the building to connect West Washington Avenue to West Mifflin Street and foster greater community interaction and activate the surrounding neighborhood. The path, which will be landscaped, is another way the scale of the building was made more human-centric and gives residents easier access to their units. It also incorporates large street-facing windows and a five-story illuminated mural. The building’s 30-foot setback on West Washington helps preserve historic trees. On the Mifflin side, CRG incorporated porches and exterior balconies for residents to enjoy the annual Mifflin Street Block Party.
Demolition
Demolition did not start until leases ended for the school year, so students could complete the semester without concerns about moving. The development team’s research uncovered that one of the homes slated for demolition was inhabited by an engineer who was involved in the Panama Canal design. The Landmarks Commission asked CRG to honor that history, so the firm will place a vintage photograph it found showing the engineer sitting in his old apartment in the new building’s resident café, Mills says.
Construction progress
Work continues to move forward with the second floor now going up.
Completion
The estimated timetable is on target with completion scheduled before the 2027-28 academic year, with pre-leasing starting this summer.
Lessons learned
The project emphasizes the importance of working with neighborhood associations and civic groups. “Authentic community engagement has always been a priority for our firm, and this project reinforced why it matters, from listening to feedback to delivering a building the community will be happy with,” Mills says. “Doing so on our first Madison project definitely helped build trust and credibility, which made the process for this second project much smoother.” She and others found that treating neighborhood meetings as true working sessions and partnering with involved community members helped to make sure all voices felt they were heard. “Being present for the 13 user-group and approval meetings helped the community to view our team favorably. Working together led to an important partnership and sense of camaraderie throughout the entire project as it nears completion,” she says.
Verveer adds, “CRG had local counsel, who greatly helped them navigate the myriad interests and the municipal entitlement process, which is why the journey was so seamless for an out-of-state developer. CRG also readily agreed to the modifications stakeholders sought.”
Barbara Ballinger is a freelancer for units. She is the co-author of 20 books; her latest is Kitchen Conversation: Sharing Secrets to Kitchen Design Success (Images Publishing).