The state awarded the Madison Square neighborhood a $100,000 Cool Cities grant on July 20, to be administered by Lighthouse Communities, a local nonprofit behind much of the community’s revitalization efforts.
About half the money will help pay for new windows and façade upgrades on the Hubb – a 53,000 square foot commercial building at 1515 Madison Ave. that will house internet startups. Owner Horace Demmink has already moved his company, PathWay, a low-cost internet service provider, into the building. He plans to spend nearly $2 million renovating the building and adding a state-of-the-art networking room that should attract high-tech tenants and nearly 160 workers.
Remaining funds will pay for streetscape improvements and other neighborhood ventures.
Madison Square, a tight knit residential community that borders a collection of aging industrial buildings, is poised for major change as new townhouses and businesses continue to sprout. Neighborhood organizers gathered community input earlier this year to better cope with the changes. The end result: a “design charrette” that calls for a community park, improved public transportation, streetscape upgrades, business district signs and rezoning of underused industrial spaces for commercial and residential developments.
Robert W. Swanson, director of the state’s Department of Labor and Economic Growth, said he hopes the Hubb project will catalyze such neighborhood change. Besides the grant funding, Cool Cities designees receive priority access to other state grants, tax credits and services designed to invigorate neighborhoods.
Source: Robert W. Swanson, Department of Labor and Economic Growth; Horace Demmink, PathWay; David Allen, Lighthouse Communities
Photograph by Brian Kelly - Rapid Growth
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