Middleton residents and commissioners question 10‑story Imperial Garden rezoning as applicant presents conceptual towers

A majority of speakers at the Middleton Plan Commission’s Oct. 28 public hearing urged commissioners to oppose a request to rezone the northeast corner of University Avenue and Allen Boulevard — the site currently occupied by the Imperial Garden restaurant — from Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning to an MOU/MUA zoning classification that would allow taller, denser development.

Residents raised safety and traffic concerns throughout the hearing. "The intersection really only has three drives," said Richard Roberts, describing what he called constrained access and predicting the large building would generate traffic that would worsen left‑turn conflicts. Moira, a Marshall Park condominium resident, told the commission the parcel lies in an environmental corridor and pointed to the city’s 2023 comprehensive plan and earlier safety studies, saying that the corner already has the most pedestrian, bicycle and car accidents in Middleton.

The applicants — Tom Sanford of Sanford Enterprises and representatives from OPN Architects, including Wesley Reynolds and Mark Cruiser — presented an early concept that would break the site into two towers: a five‑story structure facing University Avenue and a 10‑story tower to the rear, with retail at the corner and underground parking. "We are carrying 120 feet to the top of the building," Reynolds said, describing a stepped massing intended to bring light into interior units and to provide a green courtyard between the towers. The presentation included sustainability ideas such as rooftop photovoltaic arrays and green roofs and framed the design as transit‑oriented housing close to Metro bus routes.

Staff repeatedly cautioned that the materials shown were conceptual and had not been reviewed in full. Planning staff told the commission a rezoning would require an amendment to the comprehensive plan and additional public notice; staff said the commission would receive a findings‑of‑fact report at its Nov. 11 meeting and, if it moved the rezoning forward, the common council — not the commission — would make a final decision after two readings.

Commissioners and staff pressed the applicants on procedural and technical issues: whether the four parcels proposed for rezoning meet minimum lot area requirements under MUA rules, whether the project would require a certified survey map (CSM) to consolidate lots, whether the 33% retail requirement for corner lots would be satisfied, and whether a traffic impact analysis should be required before a rezoning is advanced. "We could request a traffic impact analysis," a staff member said, noting that a developer would pay for and the city would manage consultant work but that a conceptual submission could make such a study premature.

Several commissioners said they liked aspects of the concept — compact design, transit orientation and sustainability goals — but several also said a 10‑story building at that particular corner felt excessive without a fuller site proposal and firm guarantees about affordable housing or commercial components. Commissioner Lisa (full name on the record) said the concept was "stunning," but added, "as beautiful as the concept is, I think the process is pretty messy" without a site plan. Other commissioners urged keeping corridor‑level planning in mind rather than approving height on a parcel‑by‑parcel basis.

No zoning vote was taken tonight on the Imperial Garden site. Staff will assemble findings based on the feedback and the plan commission will consider the matter at a future meeting (staff indicated November 11 as the next commission opportunity). The applicants were advised to return with a clearer site plan or to consider a planned unit development (PUD) submittal that would specify required uses and give the city more control over commercial components and site design.

What’s next: The commission will review staff findings and additional materials on Nov. 11; any rezoning would also require a comprehensive plan amendment and ultimately action by the Middleton Common Council.