Chali Pittman
The old WMC headquarters on East Washington Avenue
The Madison city council has signed off on TIF loan financing for the affordable housing project.
The “W,” “M” and “C” have disappeared from the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce office building on East Washington Avenue, and soon all the letters could come tumbling down. The building is slated to be demolished, and under a plan submitted to the city, seven stories of affordable housing would be built.
The Madison city council signed off on financing to help fund the project Tuesday, authorizing a tax incremental finance loan of $1.66 million. The funding would help close about a third of the total financing gap of roughly $5 million; the total project is projected to cost roughly $81 million.
The building is still owned by the WMC Foundation, but Bear Development LLC is slated to redevelop the property at 501 E. Washington Ave. into 222 units of affordable housing — 196 one-bedroom units and 26 two-bedroom units — along with 68 parking spaces.
The project is also funded through low-income tax credits through WHEDA, the state housing authority.
Units will be available to those making 80% or less of area median income, with most units available to people making 60% or less of the median income. For a one-bedroom apartment, that amounts to a household making $57,000 a year, according to Matt Wachter, director of planning and community and economic development for the city.
WMC, the state’s largest business lobby, occupied the office building for roughly four decades. The group moved their headquarters to the American Center Business Park, near where Highway 151 crosses the interstate, in June 2025.
