The development that would boot Essen Haus

A proposed development requiring demolition of Essen Haus and another building has neighbors and preservationists concerned. For the most part they’re not worried about what’s coming down. They worry about what might be going up.

“This is an area where it’s pretty safe to say that people want the project done,” says Bill Fruhling, senior planner with the city’s neighborhood planning, preservation and design section. “It’s not one of those ones where, ‘We don’t want any development there.’ But it has to be the right project. It’s getting all the pieces to fit.”

McGrath Property Group’s five-floor mixed use project, to be called The East End, would include 153 apartments, 220 parking spaces and 11,000 square-feet of commercial space. Essen Haus and an adjacent building, 514 and 518 E. Wilson St., respectively, would be demolished. The Come Back Inn, 508 E. Wilson, would be retained and refurbished. Hotel Ruby Marie, 524 E. Wilson, on the corner with South Blair Street, is not part of the project....

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Ken Notes: One of my favorite areas in Madison. lets get this right!