Site Programming, Selection & Conceptual Design A Non-Profit Business Incubator and Mixed-Use Development

By Alexander London, Janice Soriano & Martha Souder For URPL 601: Site Planning Department of Urban & Regional Planning University of Wisconsin Madison 0

TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 2 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 3 SITE PROGRAMMING ............................................................................................................... 3 SITE SELECTION CRITERIA .................................................................................................... 3 SITE ANALYSIS & SELECTION ................................................................................................ 6
Site A Madison, WI: Packers Avenue......................................................................................... 7 Site B Madison, WI: Sprecher Road & Milwaukee Avenue ................................................ 9 Site C Cottage Grove, WI ............................................................................................................. 11 Summary of Findings & Final Selection ................................................................................... 13 Current Site Uses.............................................................................................................................. 15 Proposed Uses & Design ................................................................................................................ 15

CONCEPTUAL DESIGN ........................................................................................................... 15 CLOSING THOUGHTS............................................................................................................. 17 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 18

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The objectives of this report are to establish a site program, select a site in Dane County based on objective criteria, and articulate a conceptual design.

Our intended site program consists of a non-profit mixed-use development catering to a business incubator for start-up companies in the Madison area. Incorporating shared office space, co-op housing, and ground-level retail spaces this development aims to serve as a productive, convenient, low-cost, high-resource environment for entrepreneurs. To accommodate both office and housing facilities, we determined that only sites zoned for mixed-use between one-half acres and five acres, and surrounded by existing urban density will be considered. Three sites within Dane County were evaluated based on proximity to and quality of: (1) pedestrian-oriented infrastructure; (2) commercial and retail developments; (3) social, health and educational services; and (4) natural areas.

Based on the context of the chosen site, we created a conceptual design of two main buildings: (1) apartments and (2) offices/retail. The residential building contains 22 dwelling units comprised of 6 two-bedroom units and 16 studios or one-bedroom units. The office building contains 26 office spaces designed to accommodate between one and three people, as well as a shared conference room and a communal lounge. These spaces are primarily located on the second floor of the building. The first floor is designed for 2 retail spaces: (1) a small grocery and (2) a small store. Between the two buildings is a small parking providing six parking spaces. To the rear of the building is a loading dock with storage space. Behind the apartments is a community garden and yard. The spaces are small yet efficient, low-cost and high quality. Residents are able to lease an apartment for less than the current market value. All residents and office workers will be members of the cooperative.

After reviewing the qualities of each site, the 0.96-acre parcel located at 2412 Packers Avenue, Madison, WI was determined as the most suitable. Unfortunately, there are pre-existing land-uses which conflict with financial feasibility and the quality of a pedestrian-oriented environment. The site has two small existing commercial structures that need to be redeveloped. The site is fronted by a heavily trafficked arterial road; thus, an important aspect of our conceptual design is reducing the effects of noise pollution for the residents. This aspect of the site may prove to be a barrier to successfully facilitating pedestrian-oriented access to the site.

INTRODUCTION
Non-profit involvement in entrepreneurship and community building is a burgeoning concept. Business incubators are attractive to small groups of entrepreneurs because of the access to social and intellectual capital as well as financial feasibility. Many incubators are extensions of educational institutions. Our project, in contrast, will create an incubator environment financed by a non-profit cooperative with associations to universities, but independent of them. The concept provides an alternate opportunity for start-ups in the Madison area that are unable or unwilling to participate in a University-affiliated incubator program.

This report outlines our site selection criteria and weighting scheme, three potential suitable sites and analysis, and our final site selection. Additionally, the report will incorporate a visual conceptual design overview.

SITE PROGRAMMING

This development includes office space, and cooperative housing, both of which will be designed with communal spaces to increase efficiency. A variety of living spaces will be available based on market demand, putting an emphasis of quality of living over space for living. The ultimate goal of such an environment is to provide a lowcost yet high-resource environment for small start-up companies that would otherwise not be able to launch their businesses, and to create a living environment oriented around this concept. To encourage mixed-use environments, the ground floor of the office building is retail.

SITE SELECTION CRITERIA

1) Zoning permits mixed-use development. 2) The developable land must be between 1 and 5 acres. 3) The lot is visibly for urban infill and is surrounded by many other uses. 4) Located in Dane County, Wisconsin.

An absolute set of criteria was established in order to narrow the number of site possibilities yielded from initial site considerations. The final three sites considered suitable for the stated program were contingent on meeting the following:

1) Available pedestrian-oriented infrastructure (bicycling and public transit) 2) Commercial & retail development within a 0.5-mile radius 3) Social, health and educational services within a 0.5-mile radius

Once these three sites were identified, they were evaluated and compared to each other based on their ability to meet four criteria:

4) Natural recreation within a 0.5-mile radius Each of the four criteria were assigned weights to represent their importance to the intended program, as shown in Figure 1. They have been listed below from most important to least important. A point system was then established to further evaluate more detailed components of each criteria. The components for each site were graded on a scale from zero to three (0-3) and are graded according to the characteristics described in Table 1 below.
20% 20%

30%

Figure 1. Breakdown of Assigned Criteria Weights

30%

Pedestrianoriented Infrastructure Commercial & Retail Developments Social, Health & Educational Services Natural Recreation

Table 1. Site Selection & Evaluation Criteria

Score 3 2 1 0 Proximity to Bus Stop (10%) <300 feet from facility entrance within 5 minute walk within 10 minute walk >10 minute walk

Pedestrian-oriented Infrastructure (30%) Duration of Bicycling Commute (10%) 10 minutes or less 10-20 minutes 20-30 minutes >30 minutes Commercial & Retail Developments (30%) Walking Proximity 5 minutes or less 5-10 minutes 10-15 minutes >15 minutes

Duration of Bus Commute (10%) 10 minutes or less 10-20 minutes 20-30 minutes >30 minutes

Score 3 2 1 0

Variety 2 Total of more than 30,000 sf Total of 10,000-30,000 sf Total of <10,000 sf 0 sf

2 2 2

Pedestrian Accessibility to Developments Storefront streets/sidewalks Only crosswalk delineation & trafficcontrolled intersections Sites w/large parking lots, adjacent to arterial road No commercial/retail facilities present

Score 3 2 1 0

Social, Health & Educational Services (20%) Variety Walking Proximity 2 Total of more than 30,000 sf 5 minutes or less 2 Total of 10,000-30,000 sf 5-10 minutes 2 Total of <10,000 sf 10-15 minutes 2 0 sf >15 minutes Natural Recreation (20%)

Score 3 2 1

Walking Proximity 5 minutes or less 5-10 minutes 10-15 minutes

Quality Highest housing land value overlooking park Second-highest housing land value overlooking park Lowest housing land value overlooking park

Each site is scored based on the extent to which it meets the characteristics defined for each sub-criteria. 5

SITE ANALYSIS & SELECTION

Given the absolute criteria described, three sites were selected for further site suitability evaluation. All three sites are located in Dane County, Wisconsin and all happen to reside within 10 miles away from Madison. For consistency, it should be noted that distances between Madison and each site have been measured with respect to Madisons Capitol Square. Figure 2 below displays the locations of these sites below.

Capitol Square

Figure 2. Vicinity Map of Evaluated Sites

The following sections will describe the scoring of each sites characteristics and the reasoning behind each score in detail.

Site A Madison, WI: Packers Avenue

The first site evaluated is located at 2412 Packers Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin [1]. At 0.96 acres, it is the smallest of the sites evaluated and lies northeast of Lake Mendota.

Figure 3. Aerial Map of Site A (Packers Ave.) Pedestrian-oriented Infrastructure As determined by defining origin and destination using Google Maps [2]: The closest bus stop is within 300 feet of the proposed facilitys entrance and earns the site 3 points. The bicycle commute to Capitol Square is at minimum a 24-minute commute (between 20 and 30 minutes) and earns the site 1 point. The bus commute to Capitol Square is at minimum a 35-minute commute (exceeds 30 minutes) and earns the site 0 points. Site A earns 4 points out of a possible 9 points for pedestrian-oriented infrastructure. Evaluation of this site is as follows:

Commercial & Retail Development The Packers Avenue Site is located near a convenience plaza with a Walgreens and an Anchor Bank, as well as other developments such as the River Food Pantry. Using Google Earth [3] to locate commercial and retail developments within a 0.5-mile radius: The total square footage of all commercial/retail developments exceeds 30,000 square feet and earns the site 3 points. The closest developments are within a 10 to 15 minute walk from the proposed facility and earn the site 1 point. The developments consist of large parking lots and are adjacent to Packers Avenue, the arterial road, and earn the site 1 point for pedestrian accessibility. Site A earns 5 points out of a possible 9 points for available commercial & retail developments.

Social, Health & Educational Services This site is near the Northeast Family Medical Center, the Madison Chiropractic Center, the Madison Police Department, and many churches. Using Google Earth [3] to locate social, health and educational services within a 0.5 mile radius: The total square footage of social, health and educational facilities lie within 10,000 and 30,000 square feet and earns the site 2 points. The average walk time to such facilities lies between 5 and 10 minutes and earns the site 2 points. Site A earns 4 points out of a possible 6 points for nearby social, health and educational facilities.

Natural Recreation Using Google Earth [3] to locate preserved natural areas and Access Dane [4] to determine average residential property costs within a 0.5-mile radius: The abundance of open space, yet only one park within a 5-minute walk from the proposed facility still earns the site 3 points. Approximately $280,000-per-acre properties overlook this natural area and earn 1 point since these properties have the lowest value of that of the three evaluated sites. Site A earns 4 points out of a possible 6 points for nearby natural recreation. Totaling the scores of all four criteria, Site A earns a total of 18 points out of a possible 30 points.

Site B Madison, WI: Sprecher Road & Milwaukee Avenue

The second potential site is located at the intersection of Sprecher Road & Milwaukee Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin [5]. The 2.1-acre site lies adjacent to the existing MetroPlace Apartments located at the urban core of the east side of Madison.

Figure 4. Aerial Map of Site B (Sprecher Rd. & Milwaukee Ave.) Pedestrian-oriented Infrastructure As determined by defining origin and destination using Google Maps [2]: The closest bus stop is within a 5 minute walk from the proposed facilitys entrance and earns the site 2 points. The bicycle commute to Capitol Square is a minimum of 38 minutes (exceeds 30 minutes) and earns the site 0 points. The bus commute to Capitol Square is a minimum of 49 exceeding 30 minutes and earns the site 0 points. Site B earns 2 points out of a possible 9 points for pedestrian-oriented infrastructure. Evaluation of this site is as follows:

Commercial & Retail Development Using Google Earth [3] to locate commercial and retail developments within a 0.5mile radius, no such developments can be found within this range. Social, Health & Educational Services Similarly, using Google Earth [3] to locate social, health and educational services within a 0.5-mile radius, no such developments can be found within this range.

Site B automatically earns 0 points out of a possible 9 points for available commercial & retail developments.

Site B automatically earns 0 points out of a possible 6 points for nearby social, health and educational facilities. Natural Recreation Using Google Earth [3] to locate preserved natural areas and Access Dane [4] to determine average residential property costs within a 0.5-mile radius: The abundance of open space and farmland within a 5-minute walk from the proposed facility earns the site 3 points. Approximately $340,000-per-acre properties overlook this natural area and earn 3 points since these properties have the highest value of that of the three evaluated sites. Site B earns 6 points out of a possible 6 points for nearby natural recreation. Totaling the scores of all four criteria, Site B earns a total of 8 points out of a possible 30 points.

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Site C Cottage Grove, WI

The last site, located at Cottage Grove Road and Sandpiper Trail in Cottage Grove [6] is a 4.2-acre lot adjacent to various single-family households. It is the most suburban in nature and the largest of the three evaluated sites.

Figure 5. Aerial Map of Site C (Cottage Grove) Evaluation of this site is as follows: Pedestrian-oriented Infrastructure As determined by defining origin and destination using Google Maps [2]: No bus stops exist within a 10 minute walk from the proposed facilitys entrance which earns the site 0 points. The bicycle commute to Capitol Square, although a developed bike trail exists, exceeds 30 minutes and earns the site 0 points. The bus commute to Capitol Square exceeds 30 minutes and earns the site 0 points. Site C earns 0 points out of a possible 9 points for pedestrian-oriented infrastructure. Commercial & Retail Development The Cottage Grove site is nearby Piggly Wiggly and McDonalds. Using Google Earth [3] to locate commercial and retail developments within a 0.5-mile radius: 11

Site C earns 6 points out of a possible 9 points for available commercial & retail developments.

The total square footage of all commercial/retail developments exceeds 30,000 square feet and earns the site 3 points. The closest developments are within a 5 to 10 minute walk from the proposed facility and earn the site 2 points. The developments consist of large parking lots and are adjacent to Cottage Grove Road, an arterial road, and earn the site 1 point for pedestrian accessibility.

Social, Health & Educational Services This site is near many medical facilities such as a UW Health Clinic, the Heartland Family & Madison Chiropractic Centers, a CVS Pharmacy, a dentistry, and is also nearby Glacial Drumlin Middle School. Using Google Earth [3] to locate social, health and educational services within a 0.5 mile radius: The total square footage of social, health and educational facilities exceeds 30,000 square feet and earns the site 3 points. The average walk time to such facilities lies between 5 and 10 minutes and earns the site 2 points. Site C earns 5 points out of a possible 6 points for nearby social, health and educational facilities.

Natural Recreation Using Google Earth [3] to locate preserved natural areas and Access Dane [4] to determine average residential property costs within a 0.5-mile radius: The abundance of open space and other natural areas within a 5-minute walk from the proposed facility earns the site 3 points. Approximately $320,000-per-acre properties overlook this natural area and earn 2 points since these properties have the second-highest value of that of the three evaluated sites. Site C earns 5 points out of a possible 6 points for nearby natural recreation. Totaling the scores of all four criteria, Site C earns a total of 16 points out of a possible 30 points.

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Summary of Findings & Final Selection

After thorough evaluation of the three sites, as well as implementing the criteria and weighting schemes previous described, Site A, the site located along Packers Avenue in Madison, appears to be the best selection for our intended incubator environment program. Table 2 on the following page shows the quantitative results of this evaluation. While the Packers Avenue site is ultimately the best of the three potential sites, it is by no means the most ideal. The weighting scheme used reveals many interesting points as to why this may be the case. On average, Site A did not fare poorly in any one particular criteria. However, while it succeeded mostly with its abundance of commercial and retail development, it did not succeed as much as expected in terms of pedestrian-oriented infrastructure since it lacks a practical public transit route from the urban core.

Originally, we assumed Site A would far outweigh Sites B and C; however, our analysis shows that Site C was more suitable than we expected at face value. Site C in Cottage Grove did not score that much lower than the preferred Site A. Site B at Sprecher & Milwaukee completely lacks the commercial, retail, social, health and educational facilities accessible within a 0.5-mile radius. That which Site C lacked in pedestrian-oriented infrastructure was offset by the remaining criteria, especially in variety of commercial and retail developments and natural recreation.

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Table 2. Quantitative Site Analysis Results

SITE A: Packers Ave site Criteria Pedestrianoriented infrastructure Weight Sub-criteria (10% weight each) Bus stop proximity 30% Bicycling commute Public transit commute SUBTOTAL Availability of commercial & retail developments Availability of social, health, and educational services Nearby natural recreation Variety 30% Proximity to facility Pedestrian accessibility SUBTOTAL Variety 20% Proximity to facility SUBTOTAL Proximity to facility 20% Quality SUBTOTAL FINAL WEIGHTED SCORE (out of 100) Rating (out of 3) 3 1 0 4 3 1 1 5 2 2 4 3 1 4 Weighted Score 10.00 3.33 0.00 13.33 10.00 3.33 3.33 16.67 6.67 6.67 13.33 10.00 3.33 13.33 SITE B: Sprecher & Milwaukee site Rating (out Weighted of 3) Score 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 6 6.67 0.00 0.00 6.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 10.00 20.00 SITE C: Cottage Grove site Rating (out of 3) 0 0 0 0 3 2 1 6 3 2 5 3 2 5 Weighted Score 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 6.67 3.33 20.00 10.00 6.67 16.67 10.00 6.67 16.67

56.67

26.67

53.33

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CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
Current Site Uses
The Packers Avenue site currently hosts an abandoned gas station and an auto shop. These are two separate parcels that are for sale together for a combined .96 acres and $600,000.

Proposed Uses & Design

Within our development, we envision two main buildings: an apartment complex and an office and retail space. There will be 20,040 gross square feet of residential space making up 22 units, including six two-bedrooms and 16 studio and onebedrooms. All residents and office workers will become members of the cooperative. An aerial view of the development, as well as its intended traffic flow between its proposed uses and surrounding elements can be seen in Figure 6 below.

Figure 6. Traffic and Pedestrian Flow Diagram of Proposed Uses 15

The office and retail building will hold approximately 9,280 gross square feet of office space including about 26 private offices and several larger shared conference rooms and lounge areas. The office space will be predominantly on the second floor with a first floor lobby, as the majority of the first floor will be devoted to about 5,000 net square feet of retail space. This retail space will accommodate one or two small businesses and a small grocery store. There will be a loading dock and storage area (approximately 2,925 net square feet) attached to the office and retail space with access from the side street, Elka Lane. Finally, there is a small parking lot in front of the lobby entrance and adjacent to the residential building. Figure 7 below shows multiple views of the proposed development in order to give a better sense of the intended environment.

Figure 7. Multiple Views of Proposed Development showing front elevation (top photo), back elevation (second photo), and Birds Eye View depicting nearby structural massing (bottom photos)

The goal of such a development is to foster a sense of community, which is reflected in our design. Our site is planned to create a calm and productive environment in an otherwise loud and distracting area. To accomplish this, we separated the living and working space from a high-traffic road with fences and natural barriers such as 16

trees. We also incorporated large open windows and a west-facing glass ceiling to bring in natural light and views of the community garden area and playground seen in Figure 8 below. Both our site program and conceptual design emphasize a focus on high-quality communal spaces.

Figure 8. Playground and Community Garden Space

CLOSING THOUGHTS

While we are exceedingly pleased with our conceptual design, we faced some drawbacks in our site selection process. The Packers Avenue site did receive the highest weighted score; however, this score was only about 57 out of a possible 100 points. We were also somewhat limited within Dane County, as the University holds such a large weight here and in terms of actual feasibility our project may have been more realistic in a larger city with a larger market for such a development.

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REFERENCES
1. Full Land Real Estate Listing for Sale in Madison, Wisconsin CIMLS #556065. The Commercial Investment Multiple Listings Service. http://www.cimls.com/sale-listing/556065-412-Packers-Ave-MadisonWisconsin-53704. 2. Google Maps, www.maps.google.com. 3. Google Earth, www.earth.google.com. 4. Access Dane, http://accessdane.co.dane.wi.us/html/parcelsearch_plandev_temp.asp?meth od=15. 5. Madison WI Land for Sale MLS #1636723. LandBin. http://www.landbin.com/land/wi/scwmls/1636723. 6. Cottage Grove WI Land for Sale MLS #1676835. LandBin. http://www.landbin.com/land/wi/scwmls/1676835.

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