Madison gets $950,000 grant for rail station planning

Friday, October 22, 2010

From a news release issued by the City of Madison:

City officials announced today that the City of Madison has received $950,000 TIGER II planning grant from the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. The grant will fund the planning process for the city's economic development efforts surrounding the high speed rail station.

"The high speed rail station presents tremendous economic development potential for Madison," Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said. "This grant will accelerate our planning efforts and make sure we realize that potential to grow our tax base, create jobs and build effective, intermodal transportation downtown."

"The rail terminal that these funds will go toward will create jobs and stimulate economic growth and educational opportunities in the Madison metropolitan area. I'm proud to support this worthy federal/local partnership to benefit our community," Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin said.

The city's grant application focused on planning efforts to fully leverage the introduction of intercity rail service, link it to other transportation systems, and maximize its local and regional economic impact. The city will work with developers to include several elements in the development surrounding the rail station, including a new hotel to bolster the Monona Terrace convention center, a new underground parking facility, a bike station, intermodal connections to Metro and intercity busses and a public market.

"We have a tremendous opportunity for redevelopment and this will help us get it right," Susan Schmitz, President of Downtown Madison Inc. said.