Habidatum collaborated with Neutral to evaluate the buildable potential of parcels in Madison, WI, using Vanilla’s modular architectural system. This project shifted from a standardized approach to a flexible, modular evaluation, assessing each parcel based on its unique dimensions and zoning requirements.

Objectives: Conduct GIS analysis of Madison zoning to define target zones and parcel dimensions for multifamily development, and help Neutral identify and prioritize properties for acquisition with higher potential for successful deals.

Stage 1: Defining Development Potential. This stage focused on identifying zones with the highest development potential and determining common development envelopes for flexible architectural designs. Key outcomes included:

• Zoning data clean-up and transit-oriented development (TOD) layers.
• Identification of underused parcels and development capacity by zone.
• Analyzing parcel dimensions, regularity, bonuses and constraints.
• Mapping priority properties for acquisition.

Stage 2: Acquisition Prioritization. In this phase, we linked owner information to target properties and integrated local area median income (AMI) data to help Neutral prioritize acquisitions with affordability considerations.

Deliverables: GIS data layers and analysis to support zoning, parcel evaluation, and development potential.

The final GIS project included:

• Buildable footprints of priority parcels.
• Modular analysis for flexible design solutions (module count, width, depth, and area).
• A prioritized list of eligible parcels and their envelopes, zoning, TOD, AMI data overlays, and opportunity zone boundaries.

Habidatum was responsible for data collection, GIS processing, and creating final deliverables. This collaboration with Neutral

and Vanilla’s architectural team was an exciting challenge, allowing us to refresh and develop our expertise in GIS and built environment metrics. We look forward to expanding this methodology as part of our community and commercial potential metrics suite in the future.

Madison, WI Location Risk Scores