Student Housing Development at University of Wisconsin-Madison Breaks Ground

Ground was recently broken for a new student housing facility near the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. VERVE Madison will stand 12 stories and contain 142 units for a total capacity of 536 residents among rooms ranging from one to five beds. Subtext and Stevens Construction Corp., partnered with architecture firm ESG for the building’s design. The facility is scheduled for completion in fall 2024.

The press release notes that each unit comes fully furnished with amenities like private bedrooms and bathrooms; Internet; laundry facilities; secured access; and design elements like stainless steel appliances, black accents, and private balconies in certain units.

The facility itself also offers 19,000 square feet of luxury amenity space including a rooftop pool and sun shelf, outdoor terrace, 24-hour fitness center and sauna, coffee bar, large and small group study lounges, a food market, and a pet spa.

“With record-breaking enrollment and shortage of highly amenitized housing near campus, we saw an opportunity to bring a VERVE project to Madison, giving students a community for both academic success and lifelong memories,” said Subtext Founder & CEO Brandt Stiles. University enrollment hit 49,886 for the fall 2022 semester, up almost 2,000 students from fall 2021.

“Contributing to the communities we love, live, and work in is an incredible honor,” said Mark Rudnicki, CEO and President of Stevens Construction Corp. “Partnering with Subtext and ESG to build a student living community that focuses on the well-being of its inhabitants is something we are very proud to be a part of.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Nashville Elementary School Receives LEED Gold Certification

    Goodlettsville Elementary School, part of Metro Nashville Public Schools in Nashville, Tenn., recently achieved LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), according to a news release. The 81,750-square-foot school opened in 2023 and was designed by Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC).

  • Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The College of Western Idaho's Agricultural Sciences Complex has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of New Construction.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey

    Spaces4Learning recently launched the 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey, which collects data on the previous year’s K–12 and higher education construction projects nationwide.

  • Architectural Power for the Modern Campus Landscape

    For generations, an outdoor classroom only required a textbook and a patch of grass. Today, not only has the laptop replaced the printed pages, the rise of agile learning has turned campuses into study halls with students listening to lectures and researching topics from quads, gardens, and plazas. The challenge for architects and facility managers is to provide connectivity without cluttering the landscape with visual eyesores or creating safety hazards with extension cords.