Willy Wash: A Movement

Willy Wash is a movement of people who stand behind the idea that the area from the Yahara River to the Capitol, from Willy Street to E. Washington, be re-developed with the consideration of music, a musical Yahara if you will...

It all started with a group meeting at the Memorial Union over a few beers wondering what Madison would be like with a world class music zone, bringing economic prosperity to a very old area while paying homage to Madison's musical history as well as the city's strong values of arts, culture, and education.

Now it has grown to a movement, putting investors, politicians, developers, city planners, business leaders together to re-forge an area into a zone that the public and music community can live, work, and play in a city loved around the world.

There has never been a time in Madison's history that an area so large, and so prime, be on the table for re-development. It is almost our fortune that early settlers of Madison turned the east part of the isthmus into an industrial area that now leaves many locations up for development.

The elephant in the room is "What will the area be redeveloped into?"

We have a choice, we can do nothing and just let the forces be as they may and re-develop, or we could come up with ideas that the public, government, and developers can get behind and realize.

Capitalism is built on demand, and if investors can see the certainty and predictability of the area, and the density of residents grows (see the Constellation and other projects), they will infuse capital into sound business plans.

Madison is under a maze of construction, with investors funding giant projects, which makes NOW the perfect time to make things happen in the Willy Wash area.

High tech start ups in that area are already underway, with many young, talented people working an living in the area, and many that will be coming in the future years.

That's where Willy Wash comes in. We are really just a citizen powered think tank of music lovers.

- The Founders, Willy Wash