Neighbors of a landmark in the west-side Nakoma neighborhood are opposed to changes to two parcels that are home to the mid-1800s Old Spring Tavern, according to a Wisconsin State Journalreport. The current owner of the parcels recently won city approval to adjust the lot lines so the second, vacant parcel has more space to accommodate a new home. The properties have both been listed for sale and are now under contract for sale at $1.4 million for the tavern property and $495,000 for the vacant lot.
Neighbors to the property and the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation argue that construction on the vacant lot would impose a structure that would loom over the tavern-hotel and ruin the traditional tavern-hotel setting, remove key landscaping elements, and threaten a nearly 300-year-old black walnut tree.
