Source: City of Madison
The proposal to redevelop Garver Feed Mill into an artisan food production facility adds another player to Madison’s growing “food innovation corridor” on the city's north and east sides.
When the Madison Common Council last month unanimously selected a proposal to redevelop the historic Garver Feed Mill into a food production facility, the move symbolized both a return to the site’s culinary roots as well as a vision for its future.
Garver began its life more than 100 years ago as a sugar beet processing factory; now, with plans from the Chicago-based Baum Development in motion to transform the crumbling brick structure into a “Food Makers” building that will house local artisan food and drink producers, Garver will become part of the city’s plan to create a “food innovation corridor” on the city’s north and east sides.
“Madison is a destination for food,” says Bryant Moroder, a Garver Feed Mill project manager with Baum Development. “[Garver] is part of that ecosystem.”
In drafting the plan, members of the Baum team reached out to city officials and staff from existing food business incubators to determine how the Garver facility could fit into Madison’s established mix of food production facilities as well as the proposed public market.
The existing food innovation infrastructure includes incubators like the nonprofit Food Enterprise and Economic Development (FEED) Kitchens and Common Wealth Development’s Madison Enterprise Center and Main Street Industries. It also includes the nonprofit urban agriculture center Community GroundWorks, the culinary arts program at Madison College and the beloved Dane County Farmers’ Market.
Developers identified a need for a facility to house “second state” food businesses — companies that perhaps started out in someone’s basement or garage and transitioned into an incubator or shared commercial kitchen, but have since expanded beyond what the existing startup spaces can provide, Moroder says.
Second-stage food businesses have more complex logistical needs — loading docks, specialized equipment, space to warehouse supplies. As Madison’s downtown development continues, finding adequate space at an affordable price can be a challenge, Moroder says. Many entrepreneurs are forced into less-than-desirable locations outside the city center, and others have even left town.
“Really what we’re trying to do with the Garver concept is give [businesses] that next level of opportunity to stay in Madison,” Moroder says.
The first Common Wealth business incubator was built in 1987, and the second was built in 1996, but the local food production scene began to pick up speed around 2007, says Sarah Hole, facility director at the Madison Enterprise Center and Main Street Industries.
At least one of the longtime Madison Enterprise Center tenants, Potter’s Crackers, has expressed interest in moving operations over to Garver, but Hole says she’s not concerned about competition.
“What we’re about is helping companies get off to a good start,” she says. “We want them to eventually graduate into the community and continue to grow.”
High demand for commercial kitchen space spurred by an influx of local food startups prompted the Northside Planning Council to develop the $1.6 million, 5,400-square-foot FEED Kitchens facility over the course of five years, but the nonprofit has had some growing pains since it opened in November 2013, says manager Adam Haen.
The site already boasts a number of successful tenants — some of whom, he says, have “tripled their business” since joining up with FEED — but it’s still not at capacity, and the Northside Planning Council recently laid off its executive director as a way to stopgap a temporary budget shortfall.
Haen says his operation has rebounded from its “less-than-optimal” start, is showing strong numbers in the first quarter of 2015 and is on track to be self-sufficient within five to seven years.
With Garver located just a few miles away, Haen expects to lose some business, but he notes that FEED is a nonprofit whose goal is to help the food scene flourish.
“With food business in Madison, there is room for so much more,” he says. “I think we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg.”
Baum developers and city officials are working together to finalize the details of the Garver proposal, which will require one more final approval before construction can begin, says Dan Rolfs, a community development project manager with the city of Madison’s Office of Real Estate Services.
The Baum proposal also includes plans for event and retail space as well as up 50 “microlodges,” or tiny homes grouped in small clusters for overnight guests.
Meanwhile, city staff are rushing to work out the details of the ground lease and the sale of the building as well as acquiring replacement parkland to allow for the transfer of Department of Natural Resources deed restrictions that prevent development on a portion of the Garver site. The city plans to purchase approximately eight acres near Hill Creek Park near the town of Middleton.
Rolfs emphasizes that the ground the Garver building sits on will remain part of Olbrich Park; it will just be leased to Baum Development. The surrounding park space, known as the North Plat, will remain accessible to the public.
Other final tasks include filing for state historic tax credits and submitting paperwork to list Garver on the National Register of Historic Places.
“There’s an immense amount of work yet to be done,” Rolfs says, “all of it tied together in a crazy timeline.”