David Michael Miller
Ever since I heard that the Oscar Mayer plant was going to close, I’ve been imagining the grounds becoming a mirror image of Janesville’s GM plant — shuttered ruins, an eyesore that drags down property values.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. This is a massive tract of land close to Madison’s downtown, and closer to the rapidly growing East Washington corridor. Even better, Kraft Heinz is willing to sell the property.
As a north-side resident, I want this land and the existing facilities to be used to their fullest potential and quickly. Here are a few options I believe that the city, county and state should look into over the next few years. None of these are economic development silver bullets; the land is so massive that the right proposal might involve a mixture of several of these ideas.
1. Keep the plant open
The corporate conglomerate that is closing the plant is open to selling it to a new company that would keep the plant open and do similar work. That is good news. It’s probably the simplest and fastest solution and takes advantage of the already trained labor force. Keeping as many of Oscar Mayer’s soon-to-be-former workers employed is the best option. Going back to school for retraining means that these workers would have to spend a couple years outside of the labor force, which isn’t good for anyone with a mortgage payment and a family.
Of course, it would be hard to find one company that could use all of the space, but even keeping part of the plant open would form a nice anchor and prevent the space from falling into disrepair.
2. Office space
That main tower holds a seven-story office building within spitting distance of the airport, with ample parking, biking distance from downtown and next to a bus transfer station. It might take a remodel, but that office space could be filled with new clients. Perhaps one of the frequent flying IT consulting firms like Nordic could make good use of the space.
3. Hotel and meeting space
The hotels over by East Towne Mall aren’t too far from the airport but, from my experience, the Crowne Plaza is the only one set up for business clients and events. A new hotel on part of the large Oscar Mayer campus would pair well with the office space. When I’ve booked travel for business visitors to Madison, a lot of them don’t care about staying downtown; they want the shortest commute to catch their 6 a.m. flight back home.
If the Oscar Mayer campus doesn’t work for this use, the now-shuttered north-side Shopko would be a solid alternative hotel location. There’s a golf course right there as a perk for hotel guests.
4. Urban agriculture
The Oscar Mayer campus seems like a great fit for an organization like Growing Power or Community Groundworks. Aquaponics is an expanding field, and the facilities are already set up to use lots and lots of water. How many downtown chefs would love to be able to say they are using sustainable, local fish on their menu? Other cities have turned parking lots into hoop houses for year-round growing.
An urban agriculture program could have an educational component thanks to such nearby schools as East High School, Sherman Middle School and Whitehorse Middle School. Food production is going to dramatically change in the next generation or two. Let’s make sure our students on the east and north sides are ready to lead in this new economy.
5. Artist studios/apartments
Turning old industrial sites into hipster-friendly housing and a workspace isn't a revolutionary idea. Artisans make good tenants and bring culture to the neighborhood, and once enough economic development has taken place, a landlord can kick the artists out as soon as they can get away with charging higher rents. It is a model that has arguably worked in cities across the country.
Of course, the property is also an attractive location for new housing. Madison needs more and more apartments to meet demand, but a lot of the multi-unit housing on the north side is in poor condition. It might be cheaper to just build new housing. More residents could also provide an economic boost to the businesses on nearby Sherman Avenue.
6. Park and bike path
Of course, if part of the Oscar Mayer grounds turns into apartments, there would need to be a few more amenities to attract residents.
There’s a lot of green space on that campus, and it is tempting for the city or county to grab some of that and turn it into a park. That neighborhood could use another park — Eken Park and Demetral Field are across a busy six-lane road. I wouldn’t let a child make that trek alone.
As a bonus, we could finally get a north-side bike path. Oscar Mayer stopped the creation of such a bike path a few years ago, but now is a perfect time to finally make the north side bike-friendly. Repainting the lanes on Sherman Avenue did a lot to help cyclists, but it isn’t a long-term solution.
7. New bus garage
A bus garage is far less exciting than some of these other options, but Madison Metro needs a larger bus garage. Madison recently lost out on a federal grant for a new garage, but there will be other grants. Given all the redevelopment on East Washington, it seems silly to have a bus garage continue to take up almost a whole block of East Wash real estate. The current garage is a prime location for another identical high-end apartment/condo building I could never afford to live in.
To put my own NIMBY-ness on display, I’d prefer something with more economic development potential than a garage on the north side, but I have to admit the location has a lot of positives when it comes to a new Metro home base.
BONUS: Massive laser tag arena
There’s no way it would turn a profit, but it would be lots of fun. If 12 year-olds could vote, I’m sure there would be massive public support to create a laser TIF district.
