After 10 years, Gorman & Company and the Madison community celebrate the completion of Union Corners, a multi-phased redevelopment project on a 13-acre prominent parcel of formerly vacant land. This summer, partners, staff, city officials, residents, and additional community members came together at a grand opening event to recognize the positive impact this 252-unit, mixed-use, mixed-income community will have on the Madison community for generations to come.
Located at the intersections of E. Washington Ave., Winnebago St. and Milwaukee St., the property was developed in IV phases and addresses healthcare and affordable housing needs while considering the historic significance of the property’s past.
The Phases of Development
Phase 1 began with building a new home for the UW Health Clinic and Urgent Care. Completed in late 2016, this brand new $23 million 60,000 SF medical clinic serves approximately 92,000 patient visits per year with over 100 employees.
Phase II, Carbon at Union Corners, was the first residential phase of the Union Corners redevelopment. Carbon was completed in 2017 and added new housing and retail within two mixed-use buildings connected by a pedestrian plaza. Carbon features 90 apartment units, 76 affordable and 14 market rate, underground parking for residents, and 20,000 SF of ground floor neighborhood retail space, including restaurant space.
Generations at Union Corners, Phase III of the project, was completed in 2018 and consists of 60 units total between two buildings, a mix of 56 affordable and 4 market rate units for families. Specifically, this development serves grandfamilies (grandparents raising grandchildren) and kinship families (family members raising other family members’ children).
Phase IV has most recently been completed; Nexus at Union Corners opened its doors in 2022. Nexus consists of 105 market-rate luxury apartments close to highly desirable downtown Madison amenities and within the charming Shenk-Atwood-Starkweather-Yahara (SASY) neighborhood.
“I am extremely proud of the community that our firm, along with our many partners, has created at Union Corners; it will be a permanent asset to the adjacent neighborhoods and the entire City of Madison for generations to come.”
Gary Gorman, Founder, and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Gorman & Company
Union Corner’s History
This site provides historical significance to the area as a former Civil War Union soldier encampment and home to the Schulkamp’s Corner Saloon, also known as Union House Tavern, named by soldiers who popularized it. During the Civil War, the wives of Union soldiers received their allotment checks in the paymaster’s headquarters on the second floor of the saloon. The French Battery and Carbon Company, also known as Ray-O-Vac Battery Corporation, served as a manufacturing center on this site until 2002. Gorman & Company found it incredibly important to honor the history of this site and installed three permanent art pieces created by Becky Ault and Mike Cunningham from the Art Design Group.
Grand Opening Celebration
The grand opening celebration featured a menu sampling from the new restaurant located within Carbon called Touch of Ukraine. Many of the staff there are Ukrainian refugees who made the brave decision to move here through the help of Gary Gorman’s sponsorship. The grand opening also held an unveiling of the permanent art installations honoring the Union soldiers, the famous and long-standing Union House Tavern, and the French Battery and Carbon Company that all previously called this location home.
