Wisconsin State Journal
Alexis London
At Madison's renewed Bayview complex, the end ...

Jacob Washington's brand-new townhouse at Bayview is unlike anywhere else he has lived.

Washington, his wife and their three young children shared a single room at a family shelter before the townhouse became available at the Downtown low-income housing complex this fall. Now they have three bedrooms, two bathrooms and far more space to themselves.

"Coming from a shelter, locked up in that room, my kids are joyous," Washington said. "The poverty forced my kids to age," he said. At Bayview, they’re free to be kids again.

But what stands out most to Washington isn't Bayview's facilities. What really feels different, he said, is the community.

"People want to be involved here," Washington said. "It's not some type of place where people are trying to get rent from you and don't care about you. They build and work every day for the kids’ sake. They really do. And that’s amazing to me because, literally, I never had this in my life."

At Madison's renewed Bayview complex, the end of construction marks another beginning
Wisconsin State Journal
Alexis London
New Bayview community center takes novel ...

The community center at the heart of the Bayview affordable housing redevelopment on “the Triangle” Downtown has opened its doors to the public.

Bright and airy, with big windows and a beachy blue-and-tan color scheme, the $9 million, 11,500-square-foot center was created by and for the people who live there as part of the second phase of the Bayview Foundation’s $60 million affordable housing redevelopment. The foundation is now turning to the third and final phase of the project, which will add a playground, more green space and the last 44 of the development’s 130 total housing units. The expansion is aimed at low-income families who do not currently live at Bayview and is scheduled for completion in February.

Bayview Breaks Ground On $50 Million Redevelopment Project

Bayview Breaks Ground On $50 Million Redevelopment Project

Located in the Greenbush neighborhood, Bayview is one of the oldest affordable housing communities in Madison. Now a $50 million redevelopment plan to nearly double the available affordable housing and build a new community center is underway, as elected officials and community partners joined Bayview residents and staff for a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday morning.

Madison's Bayview Townhomes to begin long-anticipated renovation

Madison's Bayview Townhomes to begin long-anticipated renovation

A years-in-the-making redevelopment of Bayview Townhomes — one of Madison’s oldest and most diverse housing complexes — is coming to fruition and is being celebrated with a groundbreaking ceremony at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

Madison looks to redevelop housing at 'the Triangle' Downtown

Madison looks to redevelop housing at 'the Triangle' Downtown

Madison is preparing for a major redevelopment of roughly 340 dated and deteriorating housing units for low-income, elderly and disabled residents on a big piece of “the Triangle” Downtown.

Low-income residents help shape what could be one of the coolest places to live in Madison

Low-income residents help shape what could be one of the coolest places to live in Madison

After 50 years, the nonprofit Bayview Foundation is poised to launch a $50 million redevelopment of its diverse, international, low-income Downtown community, where residents played a central role in shaping what may become one of the coolest places to live in Madison.

Efforts ramp up to vaccinate people of color against COVID-19 in Wisconsin

Efforts ramp up to vaccinate people of color against COVID-19 in Wisconsin

For Mao Lor, 65, getting a COVID-19 vaccine was painless and will make her feel safer leaving home, she said.

“There’s no hurt,” the resident of the Bayview apartments in Downtown Madison said after receiving a shot Wednesday. “I need to protect (myself) so I can go to the store.”

Mobile vaccinators making inroads in Madison's vulnerable communities

Mobile vaccinators making inroads in Madison's vulnerable communities

Sharon Wade was wondering how she was going to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The frail 79-year-old Black resident of the low-income Bayview Townhouses in Madison's Greenbush neighborhood has been eligible for two months, but she doesn't drive, and the thought of trying to seek out a vaccine was daunting. Then she got a flyer from Bayview on her door offering a vaccine. All she had to do was walk a few doors down to the complex’s community center.

“Zoo School” provides virtual education support, and a lot more

“Zoo School” provides virtual education support, and a lot more

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to close last spring, it threw a lot of families into turmoil. It also changed things for organizations that work with the schools, like Henry Vilas Zoo, which hosts field trips and day camps on non-school days. When schools across Dane County decided over the summer not to reopen, zoo staff had to take a look around. The zoo had already been in talks with the Bayview Foundation, a nonprofit organization that owns and operates an affordable housing development a little over a mile away.