NEWS
City unveils rennovated office building
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Also by Lynn Heidmann:
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by Lynn Heidmann
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
City officials and Madison residents celebrated the birth of a rejuvenated office building in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday.
Recent construction has transformed one of Bassett Neighborhood’s earliest
grocery stores into an office building, which will soon house offices
for environmental company Midwest Environmental Advocates and the
locally based newspaper, The Onion.
“We didn’t even really know the building would end up looking like
this,” property owner John Koffel said. “It’s been a really fun
project, and there is a lot of history here.”
Koffel said the building, located at 551 W. Main St., was originally
constructed in 1888 and was home to Daniel T. Trainor Groceries until
1921. After that, Koffel added, the building accommodated a variety of
other stores, including numerous grocery stores, a pizza place, and the
Madison Children’s Museum.
All of the new construction is environmentally friendly, Koffel also
said, including the floors, which were recycled from a school’s old
gymnasium floor.
According to Koffel, the building was completely gutted on the inside,
but because one of the inhabitants will be the Midwest Environmental
Advocates, much of the old material was recycled.
Everyone was surprised with how well the building turned out, he said.
Yet for Lucy Trainor, Anne Trainor and Mary Kay Miller — grandchildren
of the original owner Daniel Trainor — the renovations were more than
simply an investment.
Lucy Trainor said the building does have sentimental value, but the new
offices will add more beauty and character to the area the women grew
up in.
“The old family homes are all gone, but the neighborhood has improved
and we now have lovely condos,” Lucy Trainor said. “[The renovated
building] is going to be very beautiful, and the neighborhood will be
even more attractive.”
Before the ceremonial ribbon cutting Tuesday, Koffel said it was
reassuring to have the support of family members of the original owner.
“One of our biggest bonuses [during the project] was having the Trainor sisters right behind us and our building,” he added.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said originally the owners wanted to
tear down the historic landmark and build a more modern structure, but
after looking into the building they decided to restore it.
The decision was crucial to the character of the neighborhood and made the construction very non-controversial, Verveer said.
“[The owners] decided after further research it was just silly to tear
down the building, which I think was a great decision on their part,”
he added.
Verveer also said the reconstruction of the long-standing building is
just the first step in a movement to rejuvenate the Bassett Street
region.
“The Bassett neighborhood has enjoyed a tremendous revitalization over
the last decade,” he added. “Renovation of the historic Trainor Grocery
Store is just the latest line of investment in the neighborhood.”
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