The Greater Downtown Economic Investment Strategy
Downtown is a heart in our region and a major economic center for the city. Madison is at a pivotal moment in its history, poised to experience significant population growth, economic expansion, and evolving dynamics in how people live, work, and experience the downtown over the next 20 years. Fueled by growth in sectors like technology, biosciences, healthcare, finance, and real estate, Madison’s economy has become more diverse and increasingly reliant on private-sector business and industry. The City’s residents and workforce are also changing with younger, more diverse populations playing a key role in shaping the future. This growth is positive, and we are working together today to manage and direct that growth for Madison’s long-term success.
Envision Downtown Madison is a strategic partnership between the City of Madison and Downtown Madison, Inc that will guide the future of downtown. It’s comprised of two separate but coordinated efforts: the City of Madison’s Downtown Area Plan and the Greater Downtown Economic Investment Strategy (or simply, the Downtown Strategy). The Downtown Area Plan will guide future growth, public policy and investments, and will build off the success of the 2012 Downtown Plan. Led by DMI, the Downtown Strategy will focus on opportunities for long-term investment in downtown that ensure growth is viable, sustainable and inclusive.
Through coordinated planning, extensive stakeholder engagement, short-term action, and aligned long-term investments that leverage public and private sector strengths, Envision Downtown Madison aims to support a thriving economy and position the city as a national leader in thoughtful, balanced urban development.
Be Involved
Envision Downtown Public Event
December 2nd, 2025 at 6pm
(Hybrid: The Madison Concourse Hotel – Madison Ballroom or Online)
Updates
View a recording or meeting minutes from the October 7th Common Council meeting where the council authorized execution of a $150,000 contract with Downtown Madison Inc. for the preparation of the Greater Downtown Economic Investment Strategy.
View a recording or meeting minutes from the September 2nd Common Council meeting where the council authorized the Planning Division to lead the preparation of the Downtown Area Plan and Adopted a Public Participation Plan. This timeline will allow the Downtown Area Plan process to run in parallel with the Downtown Strategy process.
Watch a recording of the DMI What’s up Downtown breakfast panel, where DMI and City leaders discuss details about the public private partnership between the DMI-led Downtown Strategy and the City’s Downtown Area Plan. (Watch here)
Be Involved
Register for the Next Public Event on December 2nd
Sign up for Email Updates
Follow us on LinkedIn
Check out the City of Madison Downtown Plan Project Page
Project Background
This project will, for the first time in Madison’s history, coordinate the work of the public and private sectors to better understand market dynamics – including factors surrounding growth, inclusivity and sustainability – combined with economic development initiatives and targeted investment strategies that will support the thoughtful growth of Madison, and position our community as a national leader in balanced urban development. Through this planning process, and a robust public engagement process, we will develop an economic investment strategy that will provide a framework for strategic investments to support the growth that is anticipated over the next decade. This strategy will be aligned, where appropriate, with the City’s Downtown Plan that will inform public investment over the same period.
Project Goals:
Understand and communicate the economic importance of downtown Madison to the city, region, and state
Provide data- and stakeholder-driven inputs for the update to the Downtown Area Plan
Align public and private interests to ensure coordinated investments in the next chapter of Downtown Madison
Determine how to support and grow existing industries and businesses of all sizes
Identify opportunities for new industries and businesses and develop strategies to fill them
Set targets for the mix of development and land uses that will better activate the Greater Downtown area and create mid- to long-term economic sustainability and resiliency
Gather input on challenges and opportunities to inform a shared Vision and set of Big Moves with the Downtown Plan
Identify amenities and infrastructure investments that will support businesses, employees, residents, and visitors
Project Consultants:
MIG – Lead National Planning and Economic Development Consultant
EQT by Design – Local Community Engagement Consultant
Vandewalle & Associates – Local Planning Subconsultant
NEOO Partners – St. Paul-based Real Estate Development Subconsultant
Why This Matters
- Greater Downtown Madison is one of the major economic engines of the region – the downtown makes up only 1% of the city’s land area yet produces over 10% of the tax base, houses 10% of the city’s population and employs over 50,000 people – and its long-term success and vibrancy depends on a solid place-based economic investment strategy.
- A lot has happened since the adoption of the Downtown Plan for Madison in 2012; as Downtown Madison continues to mature and the world keeps changing around us, an updated roadmap is needed to ensure individual investments contribute to a cohesive whole
- An innovative economic investment strategy will contribute to tax base growth, job retention and attraction, greater vitality, and more inclusive opportunities
- Downtowns and other urban places are the result of public and private investments; public-private partnerships are needed to continue growing Downtown Madison and to drive innovation and opportunity
What Does It Look Like?
- A groundbreaking public-private partnership that is working to align public and private investments in Downtown Madison to help realize a shared vision and maximize positive impacts
- One collaborative downtown planning effort – Envision Downtown Madison – wherein DMI and the City of Madison will each lead separate but interconnected processes to produce two landmark guiding documents—the Downtown Strategy and the Downtown Plan. Coordinated public and stakeholder engagement will ensure strong targeted input that informs both efforts.
- A 15-18 month process that will combine data analysis, stakeholder input, and community feedback to develop an Economic Investment Strategy that is custom-tailored to Downtown Madison
- A three-part investment strategy that includes: 1) an Economic Development Strategy; 2) a Funding Strategy; and 3) a Governance, Management, and Oversight Strategy
FAQs
The Downtown Strategy kicked off in summer 2025 and the planning process will take about 16 months, with completion at the end of 2026. See the full-sized process graphic here.
The Downtown Strategy is using a Greater Downtown geography that stretches from Camp Randall Stadium on the West, to the Yahara River on the East. See the full-sized map of the boundaries here.
Engagement of the private sector and consultants’ expertise in the planning process will allow the City to expand market research and strengthen the analytics and planning that inform the City’s Downtown Plan and bring the public-private sectors together in a unique way to think about strategic investments and how best to manage and incent economic growth in the downtown. Ultimately it will provide the foundation for public-private engagement in strategic initiatives to implement plan recommendations in the future. This sort of alignment of interests has proven to be beneficial in other communities and will help Madison advance thoughtful and sustainable growth over the next decade.
The Downtown Strategy will provide an economic investment strategy as a framework for public and private investment and economic development. It will look at trends and identify opportunities that best support, strengthen and balance the economy, livability, and accessibility of Madison. This plan will help inform a strategic framework for public-private partnerships in the future. The City’s Downtown Plan is developed to guide public investment in infrastructure, and to inform zoning and related codes and ordinance of the City in the next 10 year period.
City staff are involved in every aspect of the planning process, working closely with DMI and the consultant team to coordinate relevant data and community engagement between the Downtown Strategy and Downtown Plan. There are also quarterly updates to the Mayor from DMI. Additionally, there is alder and City staff representation on the DMI Board of Directors, which will receive quarterly updates.
The pandemic era and societal change have shifted markets and patterns offering opportunities and challenges for a vital downtown. It’s time to focus on questions such as:
- What evolving roles will the downtown need to play when our region grows to 1M?
- What do we need to do to drive a robust and diverse downtown economy?
- What key projects are critical to the downtown’s evolution and how do we pay for them?
- How can the downtown be more accessible as we grow and meet the needs of a diversifying population?
The Downtown Strategy Email List
Sign up to receive emails about Downtown Strategy events and project updates.
Note that the City of Madison maintains a separate email list for their Downtown Area Plan.