Newsroom

Just a few years ago, the aging 10-story AT&T building, a couple of blocks off the Capitol Square at 316 W. Washington Ave., was sitting mostly empty. Today, it is bustling with activity and has become the newest entrepreneurial hub in Madison, with some of the most vibrant young businesses making it their home. Along with its new identity, it sports a new name: the 316 Building.

AkitaBox Inc., a Madison maker of facility management software, said it has moved into a new building in downtown Madison that is becoming a hub for the city’s technology companies.

Fast-growing online food ordering software provider EatStreet Inc. has moved into a new headquarters in downtown Madison, more than doubling the amount of space it occupies. The move signals a continuation of EatStreet’s growth, as well as a new chapter for an old AT&T building that is being transformed into a technology company hub.

A decaying section of Highway 19 took motorists past dated storefronts and elderly street lights. A few folks came to town to visit Mill House Quilts, but there wasn’t much else to see. Locals were more likely to head to Madison after the kids got off school.

The area’s newest brewpub, the Lone Girl Brewing Company, is set to open in Waunakee in early June. The two-story, 11,000-square-foot facility is the anchor tenant for Waunakee’s new Village Crossing project on Main Street. Its brew house, main bar, restaurant, rooftop beer garden with a bandstand and a fire pit demonstrate that this is an ambitious design that may well fuel the revitalization of downtown Waunakee.