Madison Resident Testimony
This resident is a female, originally from Wisconsin. She has been in Madison for over 10 years, starting her experience as a university student. Although she never lived in Lucky Apartments, she shares experiences of the community created prior to the New University Square and Lucky Apartments development. Q: What was located in the old University Square? A: There was a flower shop, Brothers, FAC (Friday After Class), a bakery, a movie theater. It was a safe place for a date. I loved it. Q: How did you feel about the area after the construction of Lucky Apartments? A: Downtown definitely turned metro after Lucky went in. What's there now? A yoga studio and a bunch of other similar spots. Madison Fresh Market definitely set precedence for the neighborhood. Before Fresh, we would all shop at Cap[itol] Center. It was grimy, but it was ours. It was cheaper and now everything is so expensive in Fresh. Lucky definitely changed the feel. Q: In what ways did Lucky Apartments change the feel of the community? A: The rent increased and pushed out so many people. I don't like it. It's extremely overpriced and I feel as though they're selling an image. I don't know who they're benefitting. Not the university. I'm pretty sure that you must be a wealthy student to live there. Lucky has a hotel feel and it's completely different. Q: Who would use the old University Square? A: Normal kids would use the area. It was a casual place. I feel as though State Street is a more run down area and Lucky is the posh part of campus. The stores are way more costly. I definitely feel a though they lost touch of what the students wanted. Q: What do you mean by losing touch of what the students wanted? A: I know it got run down, but they could have remodeled the area instead of putting up apartment units. The only reason it was made is because they investors knew [they] could do it. It used to be a safe area. Q: Are there any benefits to its development? A: I mean UHS (University Health Services) was by Engineering [Hall] before. The hangout spot used to be the MSC (Multicultural Student Coalition) on Fridays. 333 [University Ave] is awesome- it's central for students. I think that was an upgrade that was needed. It has a different feel now. The vibe definitely fully changed. Q: What do you think of when you think of Lucky [Apartments]? A: I have a visual of who lives there and all I can think of is money. In the past, the Towers (on State Street) used to be seen as The Lucky and now this construction is like The Towers on a massive scale. When people think of the Towers, they would associate them with not being from Wisconsin. Now, you definitely get that from Lucky [residents] . The rent is appalling! They definitely do it for status. It is definitely a cash cow for whomever owns it. Q: What do you think would be a better use for the space considering its centralized location? A: I definitely think a dorm would be better instead. Q: Lucky [Apartments] is actually open to both students and non-students. A: That is weird that non-students live there. Why pay that much! They're definitely paying for the status-the label. It's brilliant marketing. I give the business kudos, especially being on campus. I have a few questions: Why is it not a dorm? Why couldn't they make something else there or something affordable? Why couldn't they give University Square a 'face-lift' instead? They definitely changed that part of campus. This Madison resident reminisced the old University Square and emphasized how different the campus climate and community is after the development of Lucky Apartments. Choosing more affordable housing instead of the lifestyle that Lucky would have provided, she was able to share insight about the experiences she shared and continues to as her daily commute involves walking past Lucky Apartments five days a week. |