The design challenge was a City‐led initiative to develop a master plan for a signature waterfront park along the shore of Lake Monona. It was a competition to create a visionary, inclusive, and environmentally focused master plan for Madison's foremost public lakefront. The intent of the challenge was to attract regional and national waterfront planning expertise to Madison and develop a new vision for Madison’s connection to Lake Monona.

The unique opportunities and challenges of the project area required an approach beyond the standard master planning process. On February 1, 2022, the City of Madison the Common Council authorized the Parks Division to hold a design competition for master plan development for the Lake Monona Waterfront. The intent of the design challenge was to attract regional and national planning expertise to the planning area. The challenge was a two‐year process, with design team selections and master plan options completed in 2022, and refinement of a preferred master plan and submission to the Common Council in 2023.

The City issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for interested design teams in early 2022 and received fourteen submissions. An Ad Hoc Committee created by the City of Madison scored team qualifications submissions and selected three teams to participate in the design challenge. The Committee’s selection criteria included the following:

• Qualifications and capacity to prepare a master plan for a signature park

• Previous related experience

• Technical competency and experience

• Experience and implementation of equitable and inclusive design

• Understanding of local planning and development practices

The Ad Hoc Committee is the decision‐making body for the design challenge. The committee is comprised of thirteen members appointed through the City committee process, and its tasks include:

• Selecting the participating design teams.

• Identifying a preferred master plan option to move forward in the process.

• Providing recommendations for plan revisions/refinement before Common
  Council introduction.

The Parks Division held an open request for committee applicants in early February 2022. The City received over 40 applications for the thirteen positions. The Mayor's Office reviewed the applicants and recommended appointments to the Common Council for confirmation. The confirmed appointments focused on ensuring broad community representation with diverse perspectives to guide the plan development process.

The Committee is comprised of representatives from the following boards, commissions, and communities:
(7) Community representatives
(1) Member of the Board of Park Commissioners
(1) Professional Civil/Structural Engineer
(1) Member of the Madison Parks Foundation Board
(1) Member of the Monona Terrace Board
(1) Member of the Madison LakeWay Partners
(1) Member of the Board of Public Works

The City of Madison and Madison LakeWay Partners co‐sponsored the design challenge. The Madison LakeWay Partners is a non‐profit organization dedicated to developing a signature waterfront park along Lake Monona. Each design team received a stipend of $75,000 for participating in the design challenge and their master plan submission.

The City conducted pre‐planning community outreach in 2019 and 2020. Public input was gathered through various methods, including large community workshops, stakeholder listening sessions, online surveys, on‐site interviews, and community events. The collected information was provided in the Lake Monona Waterfront ‐ Preliminary Report and informed the guiding principles for master plan development. Teams were directed to work from the predesign engagement to ensure they utilized the work completed by the City. Teams also had the option to conduct their own outreach during the fourteen‐week plan development phase. There were also community input opportunities at the kick‐off and midpoint check‐in events during the development phase. Additional community engagement will occur during the refinement of the selected plan before introduction to the Common Council.

The Ad Hoc Committee appointed by the mayor scored the three Design Challenge teams based on their design submissions and their public presentation at the Madison Public Library along with 2,472 survey responses and 8,000 handwritten remarks from interested citizens.