After nearly two decades of waiting, the building that houses Madison makeshift theater space The MercLab is set to be razed to make way for housing, The Capital Times reports. As early as 2009, Mercury Players was notified of the plans to demolish the space and told the owner would provide several months’ notice, which finally came last fall.
The former garage, at 930 N. Fair Oaks Ave., stored sets, hosted rehearsals, and provided a niche theater space. Mercury Players will be out by May 1, and the facility will then be demolished and replaced by a five-story, 162-unit apartment building.
Some of the new building will reportedly be reserved for affordable housing. Völker Development is seeking low-income housing tax credits from the state and a few more city approvals before it can break ground on the development.
While the new housing is certainly needed in Madison, so are spaces for the arts. Wisconsin ranks No. 49 out of the 50 states for its funding of the arts, spending just $0.18 per capita on arts and culture.
