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For most potential buyers, finding an affordable home has become an aberration. So some people are getting creative.
Much of yet another Downtown block will be cleared for a large student housing development after the project got a final blessing from the Madison City Council on Tuesday. 
The 1,600-bed complex, which will include a small portion of lower-income rental rates, comprises four buildings to be erected on the block bounded by Johnson, Gorham and Broom streets. Given the moniker “Johnson & Broom,” the latest development from Chicago-based Core Spaces features another agreement between the company, the city and UW-Madison to give some future student tenants lower rents than they’d get in other market-rate apartments. 
For the next 40 years, 10% of the complex’s beds would get a 40% discount from what is charged for market-rate rents. 
The agreement matches the one that is part of Core Spaces’ State Street development, oLiv, which will open in August 2024. 
“We’re glad to be here with a creative solution to the housing needs of students on campus,” said Brian Munson, an urban designer with Vandewalle & Associates, which worked on the development.
Ald. MGR Govindarajan, who represents the UW student-heavy 8th District, hailed the development as an achievement but hedged it was “not perfect.” 
A rendering of the proposed 465-unit “Johnson & Broom” development from Core Spaces, as seen from Johnson Street. The development has received key approvals from the Madison’s City Council.
At oLiv, the price of a bed without a discount in the building’s marquee floor space is about $1,250 a month, Govindarajan noted.
“That is typically the price most students pay for a one bedroom or a studio,” Govindarajan said.
The council unanimously approved the site’s zoning and a certified survey map for the property. The development’s four separate but connected buildings include:
To make way for the complex, the project would see the demolition of 13 older residential buildings, including La Ville, a 10-story apartment tower built in 1990. The oldest of the buildings set to be torn down is a two-unit residence at 318 N. Broom St. that was built in 1875, according to city documents.
Earlier in Tuesday night’s meeting, the council took up another housing-related item on the other side of Downtown. 
In a contested vote, council members set the height limit to 10 stories for the entirety of the Brayton Lot, a city-owned parking lot along East Washington Avenue two blocks from the Capitol Square. Currently, the lot is being used a staging ground for construction of Bus Rapid Transit, a high-frequency, high-capacity bus system that will run on dedicated lanes with its own stations. 
Under the terms of a federal agreement for the BRT project, the city has to redevelop the parking lot in a way that’s related to the new transit system, which can include housing. 
Until Tuesday’s 14-5 council vote, part of the parking lot had a zoned height limit of four stories while another part had a limit of 10 stories. 
City officials plan to eventually issue a request for proposal, for which they can dictate the specifics, asking developers to submit their vision for the site. 
An attempt by Ald. Marsha Rummel, who represents the Near East Side in District 6, sought to change the four-story height limit to six instead of 10. 
Rummel and others argued that six floors would be more consistent with the surrounding neighborhood as well as provide a broader range of affordable apartments. 
Ald. Juliana Bennett, District 2, characterized the six-story proposal as a “copout.” City officials don’t know for sure yet what sort of tax credits a future development would receive from the state, Bennett argued, adding that 10 stories would give the city a bigger range of possibilities to explore. 
“Do we want to deny that potential at this site?” Bennett said. “If we can’t accept the potential here, are you going to accept it in your neighborhoods?”
Also Tuesday, council members voted to postpone a vote on an interim update to the city’s Comprehensive Plan of 2018, with Ald. Kristen Slack, District 19, saying she wanted more time to engage with residents about the plan change. 
If approved, the updated plan would reflect land-use and streets recommendations from 17 area and neighborhood development plans adopted in the past five years. Those include the Oscar Mayer Area Special Plan of 2022, the Odana Area Plan of 2021 and the Greater East Towne Area Plan of 2022, all of which envision more housing and mixed uses.
Changes also include public amendments, the most significant being changes to seven blocks along Regent Street. 
Three partial blocks on the southern side of the street would change to allow six stories and up to 130 housing units per acre, and three partial blocks on the northern side of the street would change to allow buildings up to 12 stories with no maximum number of housing units per acre. The Neighborhood House site at 29 S. Mills St. would change to allow a future redevelopment including new facilities and housing there.
Already, the Comprehensive Plan has a strong focus on the city’s need for additional housing and increased housing choice, with multiple strategies to address the city’s housing shortage, officials have said. Strategies include so-called transit-oriented development overlay zoning to create more density along busy transit corridors, they said.
All rezoning requests must be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan’s land-use map. A property specified for medium-density residential development, for example, could be rezoned to allow for a multifamily residential building but not for industrial use.
The update also adds new health and safety recommendations, adopted by the council in 2022, to reflect a wider range of city services and initiatives to reflect work of agencies such as police, fire, public health and traffic engineering.
College students and graduates, and their families, owe a combined $1.6 trillion in student loans, according to federal data. About 17% of U.S. adults have outstanding student loan debt, averaging more than $35,000 per person. That level of debt has caused people to wonder if college is a sound investment.
Researchers at Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce say it is. A 2019 analysis found that workers with bachelor’s degrees make 80% more than workers with only a high school diploma. That study and a 2022 follow-up study found that some colleges have greater return on investment—the money spent on tuition and other expenses—than others.
To help future students make a more informed decision, the research team behind the studies ranked 4,500 colleges, determining the best financial options. To do this, the team used data collected by College Scorecard.
The study ranks schools by the net present value, a measure of the projected earnings of an investment against the anticipated costs, both in today’s dollars and taking into account discounting interest rates, to determine whether an investment is worth making. Colleges were then ranked by the highest 40-year return on investment, with ties broken by the 10-year return.
Stacker looked at the public colleges with the best return on investment, highlighting information like graduation rates, net price, and median debt. This story only considers four-year, public colleges that predominantly grant bachelor’s degrees.
Here’s a breakdown of some key factors in the researchers’ calculations.
– 40-year NPV: What the sum of all earnings 40 years after enrollment is worth today, adjusted for the school’s education cost.
– Median earnings after 10 years: The typical annual salary 10 years after enrollment.
– Net price: The average price students pay per year after scholarships and financial aid, including books and living expenses.
– Graduation rate: The share of students who complete bachelor’s degrees within six years.
– Median debt: The typical amount of student debt graduates from this school hold.
engineer sydney
– 40-year NPV: $1,389,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $65,661
– Net-price: $21,654
– Graduation rate: 82%
– Median debt: $19,000
– 40-year NPV: $1,393,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $64,650
– Net-price: $14,595
– Graduation rate: 53%
– Median debt: $11,870
– 40-year NPV: $1,400,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $65,213
– Net-price: $17,708
– Graduation rate: 87%
– Median debt: $18,250
– 40-year NPV: $1,402,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $66,148
– Net-price: $21,048
– Graduation rate: 70%
– Median debt: $16,000
– 40-year NPV: $1,403,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $66,484
– Net-price: $20,607
– Graduation rate: 68%
– Median debt: $17,750
– 40-year NPV: $1,415,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $65,257
– Net-price: $13,986
– Graduation rate: 81%
– Median debt: $15,162
– 40-year NPV: $1,418,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $66,566
– Net-price: $19,057
– Graduation rate: 82%
– Median debt: $15,404
– 40-year NPV: $1,425,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $65,661
– Net-price: $14,109
– Graduation rate: 67%
– Median debt: $19,000
– 40-year NPV: $1,425,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $64,463
– Net-price: $7,492
– Graduation rate: Not available
– Median debt: $14,986
– 40-year NPV: $1,427,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $66,491
– Net-price: $15,884
– Graduation rate: 83%
– Median debt: $12,500
– 40-year NPV: $1,428,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $65,661
– Net-price: $13,660
– Graduation rate: 61%
– Median debt: $19,000
– 40-year NPV: $1,431,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $64,463
– Net-price: $6,302
– Graduation rate: 89%
– Median debt: $14,986
– 40-year NPV: $1,436,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $66,678
– Net-price: $15,160
– Graduation rate: 75%
– Median debt: $15,000
– 40-year NPV: $1,443,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $67,770
– Net-price: $18,548
– Graduation rate: 73%
– Median debt: $18,500
– 40-year NPV: $1,447,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $67,298
– Net-price: $17,220
– Graduation rate: 81%
– Median debt: $21,000
– 40-year NPV: $1,449,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $67,839
– Net-price: $18,023
– Graduation rate: 84%
– Median debt: $18,500
– 40-year NPV: $1,457,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $67,184
– Net-price: $16,210
– Graduation rate: 49%
– Median debt: $16,475
– 40-year NPV: $1,463,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $67,365
– Net-price: $14,928
– Graduation rate: 64%
– Median debt: $12,000
– 40-year NPV: $1,500,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $68,925
– Net-price: $13,297
– Graduation rate: 84%
– Median debt: $12,545
– 40-year NPV: $1,509,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $67,136
– Net-price: $3,562
– Graduation rate: 69%
– Median debt: $9,500
– 40-year NPV: $1,509,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $69,766
– Net-price: $14,669
– Graduation rate: 87%
– Median debt: $11,500
– 40-year NPV: $1,511,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $68,925
– Net-price: $11,060
– Graduation rate: 66%
– Median debt: $12,545
– 40-year NPV: $1,512,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $68,925
– Net-price: $10,817
– Graduation rate: 57%
– Median debt: $12,545
– 40-year NPV: $1,521,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $71,287
– Net-price: $19,815
– Graduation rate: 49%
– Median debt: $20,500
– 40-year NPV: $1,527,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $72,460
– Net-price: $22,012
– Graduation rate: 84%
– Median debt: $19,292
– 40-year NPV: $1,541,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $71,837
– Net-price: $19,045
– Graduation rate: 87%
– Median debt: $17,369
– 40-year NPV: $1,544,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $71,910
– Net-price: $17,804
– Graduation rate: 79%
– Median debt: $17,674
– 40-year NPV: $1,550,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $71,539
– Net-price: $15,880
– Graduation rate: 85%
– Median debt: $17,000
– 40-year NPV: $1,551,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $71,961
– Net-price: $14,783
– Graduation rate: 84%
– Median debt: $14,390
– 40-year NPV: $1,557,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $72,980
– Net-price: $19,353
– Graduation rate: 82%
– Median debt: $15,000
– 40-year NPV: $1,559,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $73,159
– Net-price: $21,198
– Graduation rate: 85%
– Median debt: $19,500
– 40-year NPV: $1,571,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $72,837
– Net-price: $23,239
– Graduation rate: 73%
– Median debt: $24,250
– 40-year NPV: $1,576,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $72,460
– Net-price: $11,982
– Graduation rate: 66%
– Median debt: $19,292
– 40-year NPV: $1,585,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $72,460
– Net-price: $9,981
– Graduation rate: 59%
– Median debt: $19,292
– 40-year NPV: $1,594,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $72,460
– Net-price: $8,046
– Graduation rate: 64%
– Median debt: $19,292
– 40-year NPV: $1,595,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $73,541
– Net-price: $16,463
– Graduation rate: 69%
– Median debt: $20,164
– 40-year NPV: $1,597,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $73,744
– Net-price: $14,279
– Graduation rate: 91%
– Median debt: $14,035
– 40-year NPV: $1,622,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $74,771
– Net-price: $14,232
– Graduation rate: 87%
– Median debt: $14,988
– 40-year NPV: $1,646,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $75,842
– Net-price: $15,336
– Graduation rate: 93%
– Median debt: $16,633
– 40-year NPV: $1,649,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $77,048
– Net-price: $20,397
– Graduation rate: 94%
– Median debt: $15,711
– 40-year NPV: $1,717,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $80,043
– Net-price: $19,706
– Graduation rate: 66%
– Median debt: $17,500
– 40-year NPV: $1,730,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $80,643
– Net-price: $21,595
– Graduation rate: 82%
– Median debt: $16,500
– 40-year NPV: $1,749,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $80,289
– Net-price: $14,262
– Graduation rate: 64%
– Median debt: $18,500
– 40-year NPV: $1,752,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $80,364
– Net-price: $15,329
– Graduation rate: 92%
– Median debt: $12,390
– 40-year NPV: $1,832,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $84,443
– Net-price: $20,616
– Graduation rate: 71%
– Median debt: $18,250
– 40-year NPV: $1,880,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $83,209
– Net-price: $6,433
– Graduation rate: 82%
– Median debt: $7,000
– 40-year NPV: $1,922,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $90,060
– Net-price: $26,750
– Graduation rate: 82%
– Median debt: $19,500
– 40-year NPV: $1,947,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $88,196
– Net-price: $14,739
– Graduation rate: 89%
– Median debt: $20,250
– 40-year NPV: $1,971,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $91,668
– Net-price: $20,485
– Graduation rate: 75%
– Median debt: $23,099
– 40-year NPV: $1,977,000
– Median earnings after 10 years: $91,461
– Net-price: $20,597
– Graduation rate: 64%
– Median debt: $19,500
Additional writing by Jeff Inglis. Story editing by Ashleigh Graf. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn. Photo selection by Ania Antecka.
 
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For most potential buyers, finding an affordable home has become an aberration. So some people are getting creative.
The federal grant will provide Fitchburg with $625,000 to assist with funding five officers over three years.
A rendering of the proposed 465-unit “Johnson & Broom” development from Core Spaces, as seen from Johnson Street. The development has received key approvals from the Madison’s City Council.
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