From the pages of In Business magazine.
Archipelago Village could be among the most pricey, dense, and diverse redevelopments in the East Washington Avenue corridor to date, if all phases of developer Curt Brink’s vision come to fruition.
Brink and investors Jim and Marlene Korb were in at the onset of the East Washington revitalization when they purchased the 4.3 acre site at 901 E. Washington Ave., the former home of the Mautz Paint factory, in 2002.
In 2003, they bought the old Buy and Sell Shop at 701 E. Washington Ave., which was redeveloped and became home to High Noon Saloon, Brass Ring, and Brink Lounge.
“People forget, that was the first redevelopment on the street,” notes Brink. “At that time, if you were on that street at 9 o’clock at night, you got a $30 ticket because it was all dark and scary.”
But Brink credits the city of Madison and its planning department, along with other local developers, for the turnaround the East Washington corridor has seen.
Following the Great Recession, development along East Washington picked up. More importantly, it stayed local.
“High Noon, Brass Ring, and Brink Lounge are all local businesses,” remarks Brink. “Then when Otto [Gebhardt] did the Constellation, he did it with local restaurants and businesses. When he did the Galaxie, we were able to bring in a good-sized grocery store for the neighborhood with parking.
“Across the street where the Gebhardt building is, you have Vintage Brewing, and then Rich [Arneson] and Helen [Bradbury] with Stonehouse Development have the Lyric,” Brink continues. “Another thing that really helped out was American Family Insurance making a commitment to the block with the Spark building, which brought in StartingBlock. All the development on East Washington is all local, which is a great thing.”
Brink’s Hotel Indigo, a 144-room hotel and restaurant at 901 E. Washington Ave., opened at the end of April. The 929 Building currently in development at 929 E. Washington Ave. will bring much-needed high-density office space to East Washington Avenue. The 11-story, 257,000-square-foot project is expected to be completed in July 2021.
Brink will not stop there, however. He has proposed a five-story, brick office building at 902 E. Main St. that would be partially occupied by the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA). He also has designs on a 10-story, mixed-use building for the block.
“The 10-story building would have apartments and retail space or a day care on the first floor, and it will really activate Main Street,” says Brink. “Of the apartments, 20 percent will be rented to [those making] 80 percent of the area median income. That’s critical for this area.”
Brink reiterates that the thing he’s most proud of with the East Washington redevelopment isn’t his own work, it’s the way everyone involved has worked together.
“From the other developers, to major employers in the city like American Family making a commitment to the street, to how the city and neighbors worked on it with all of us along the way, it was all local. This is a thing that Madison created, and we’ve all lived it and done it since 2002.”
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