A new Embassy Suites hotel on Doty Street opened Thursday, according to the city of Madison. The completion of the 262-unit hotel marks a key milestone in the redevelopment of the former Judge Doyle Square site, more than a decade after the first master plans for the area were developed. Hundreds of hotel rooms will now be added within walking distance of Monona Terrace, increasing the city’s ability to host major conferences and events downtown.
Judge Doyle Square is a two-block area in downtown Madison with East Doty Street to the north, East Wilson Street to the south, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to the west. It is split by South Pickney Street. The site comprises Block 88 — home to the Madison Municipal Building, which used to be a federal courthouse where U.S. District Court Judge James E. Doyle spent much of his career — and Block 105, which was home to the 520-space Government East parking garage.
In July 2012, the City of Madison’s Common Council adopted a new Downtown Plan to provide a development roadmap for the area for the next 20 years. That plan included a recommendation to redevelop Judge Doyle Square to incorporate public parking, ground-floor retail, and private development. With the opening of the Embassy Suites hotel, only one empty lot at Judge Doyle Square remains. Plans for the final lot have not yet been finalized, but it is currently being used as a construction staging site for other projects nearby.
