Lakefront Gateway unlocks the promise of Lake Mendota

A trio of projects, collectively known as Lakefront Gateway, will transform a historic stretch of Lake Mendota shoreline.

A renovation of the Memorial Union, shoreline improvements and the addition of Alumni Park between the Union and the Red Gym will make the area an even more vibrant community asset. 

The projects as a whole create a synergy that provide new green space, better recreational opportunities, and needed safety and accessibility updates to the historic Memorial Union. Lakefront Gateway will also complete the final link in the East Campus Mall, a lively pedestrian thoroughfare running from Regent Street to Lake Mendota.

The first phase of the project will renovate the west side of the building, including the Wisconsin Union Theater, Craftshop art facility and the Hoofers outdoor recreation space. The $52 million project is expected to begin next summer and end by the summer 2014. A second phase will renovate the union’s central wing, commons wing and adjacent areas.

The project marks the first comprehensive renovation of the union in 85 years. The Memorial Union opened in 1928 and the Wisconsin Union Theater was added in 1939.

UW–Madison students approved a fee each semester to fund the renovation of the Memorial Union and construction of the new Union South, which opened in the spring. The Memorial Union renovation will also be funded with private donations and union operating funds.

“I don’t think there’s another building on campus that everybody — absolutely everybody — relates to,” says Wisconsin Union Director Mark Guthier. “We have a responsibility and stewardship to this building to preserve its legacy.”

The $8 million Alumni Park development will be funded by a gift from the Wisconsin Alumni Association. The park will create a promenade that connects UW–Madison’s most popular social places – the shore of Lake Mendota and Library Mall. Through landscaping, artwork and gathering spaces, Alumni Park will tell the story of how the contributions, discoveries and personalities of UW–Madison and its alumni have made an impact across the state and around the world.

Alumni Park will also expand public access to the lake, creating a seasonal boat dock and pavilion off the shore north of the Below Alumni Center.

“This special place — the heart of the UW campus — is the backdrop for so many student and alumni memories that make us Badgers to the soul,” says Paula Bonner, president and CEO of the WAA. “WAA is celebrating a century and a half of serving alumni and this great university, and Alumni Park will be a legacy that restores our beloved soul of campus and pays it forward for generations of students, alumni and friends.”

Memorial Union — including the Terrace — will remain open during the first phase of construction, but the west wing of the building, which includes the theater, will be closed. Hoofers is expected to close for the 2013 season, but plans are in the works to find alternative space for all Hoofers clubs.

The renovation will provide an additional 8,000 square feet of space for Hoofers.