Another day, another chapter in the saga of the downtown Madison building that houses Paisan’s restaurant. In a demolition request filed last week, building owner Greg Rice claims the structure, at 131 W. Wilson St., is in danger of immediately collapsing, and the façade of the building has started to “bow out,” which could endanger the public with falling bricks, according to an article in the Wisconsin State Journal.
Alder Mike Verveer, who represents downtown Madison, disputed Rice’s claim, noting the building does not need to be demolished based on the analysis of city building inspectors. He called the demolition request “hyperbolic,” noting the city wouldn’t permit the building to remain open if it was a danger to the public.
Rice would like to sell the site to a developer who has proposed a new 14-story, mixed-use building that would include about 250 apartments, but attorney Nicholas Loniello, whose law firm rents an office in the building, has filed a lawsuit in defiance of an order to leave the premises.
