Today we’re launching the Greenbush-Vilas Partnership website and along with it this blog. I chose the name “Park & Regent” because that busy intersection is the entry point for most people into the neighborhood.
The corner of Park & Regent was called “Spaghetti Corners” during WW II when soldiers switching trains at the depot just a block away would stop at one of the old Italian restaurants there for a quick meal. The area retains some of its Italian roots with Fraboni’s deli and the Italian Workmen’s Club, but much of the rich flavor of the neighborhood went away with the “urban renewal” projects of the early 1960’s.
Today the Greenbush-Vilas Partnership is hard at work at restoring the neighborhood, building off its rich cultural heritage and taking advantage of its close proximity to the UW campus, the hospitals and more. The Partnership is a joint effort of the UW and Meriter and St. Mary’s hospitals with additional support provided by M,G&E, Park Bank, First Weber Foundation and the National Realtors Association. Our work is guided by an 18 member community advisory committee consisting of stakeholders from the neighborhood and business associations and others.
From time to time I’ll keep you post on our progress through this blog. In the meantime, cruise around the website and let me know what works and what we might add.
Dave Cieslewicz,
Director
The Greenbush-Vilas Partnership
Park & Regent 