MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Marshall Park bath house had been nearly forgotten.
For almost two decades the bunker-like cinder block structure on Lake Mendota’s western shore has been dormant, the Wisconsin State Journal (https://bit.ly/2sSvPAF ) reported. Its changing rooms were shuttered, the concession stand closed. Vegetation consumed the building, which made it difficult to spot for passers-by on Allen Boulevard and for the throngs of boaters who use the landing on the park’s north end.
But Tyler Leeper’s vision and business plan is reviving another city-owned facility and bringing more people to the 37-acre park and the lake’s 9,781-acre surface.
In late May, Leeper opened Marshall Boats. Like his similar businesses at Wingra Park on Lake Wingra and at Lake Monona’s Brittingham Beach, he’s offering paddleboard, kayak and canoe rentals but has added pontoon boat rentals to the Marshall Boats location.
Leeper has reopened the concession stand, added chairs and tables to the rooftop deck that provides panoramic views of the lake and has built a pier and sloping kayak launch just south of the beach.
The $200,000 investment by Leeper is helping to reinvigorate a little-used but highly valuable park space on one of the state’s largest inland lakes.
“We’ve had so many people say that they never knew there was a building here,” Leeper said. “The first goal for us is to provide access and build community through outdoor recreation and education.”
Leeper has been eyeing the site for more than three years and in February reached an agreement with the city for an eight-year lease that requires him to invest a minimum of $24,000 in the facilities between 2017 and 2022. He also will pay user fees of $1,500 a year for the first two years; $2,500 each of the next two years; $3,500 a year in 2021 and 2022; and $4,500 a year in 2023 and 2024. The contract also requires a $900 vending permit each year and guarantees Leeper at least four mooring spots for pontoon boats for a total of $3,300 a year.
Alcohol sales are prohibited, but that condition hasn’t prevented the West High School graduate to build a brisk business at his other locations. Leeper began working at the Lake Wingra operation when he was 14, bought that business in 2005 and opened a second location at Vilas Beach on Lake Wingra in 2008. In 2013, he closed the Vilas location and transformed the little-used Brittingham Beach House on Monona Bay into a thriving second rental location.
A similar trajectory is anticipated for Marshall Park.
“We’re very excited that he’s partnered with us on the Marshall facility,” said Claire Oleksiak, community services manager for the Madison Parks Division. “I think he’s done a fantastic job of bringing life to the building and to the shoreline. It’s, I think, going to be a destination in Madison.”
The Marshall Park operation continues a trend of public-private partnerships.
In March, after much public debate, the city approved a plan for BKM Group to renovate the beach house at Olbrich Park Beach on Lake Monona’s northern shore and create a German-style beer garden with a seating area for up to 250 people. What is being called The Biergarten at Olbrich Park is ready to open but Mike Bare, one of BKM’s investors, said late last week that his company is waiting on final license approvals from the city.
“The tables are up, the staff is hired,” Bare said. “We’re all set to go.”
Rutabaga Paddlesports is also renting kayaks and paddleboards out of the Olbrich beach house but the Marshall Park operation from Leeper provides one of the few spots along Lake Mendota’s more than 21 miles of shoreline in which to rent a watercraft. Skipper Bud’s on the lake’s northwestern shoreline offers a full range of rentals while Outdoor UW at Memorial Union offers kayak and paddleboard rentals on the lake’s southern shoreline.
Marshall Boats has 40 paddleboards, 24 single and 12 tandem kayaks, four canoes and one special paddleboard that can hold six adults. One of his biggest investments has been the purchase of three 24-foot pontoon boats with 50-horsepower outboard motors. Each can hold 12 people; alcohol is not allowed on the boats. Leeper has also purchased an 18-foot Ranger with a 130-horsepower motor that was a former police boat in Milwaukee but is now used by his staff to help struggling paddlers on Lake Mendota.
His business is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. but only between Memorial Day Weekend and Labor Day, which can be a challenge to the bottom line.
“We have a 110-day season. How do you make any money? That’s been the hardest thing ever,” Leeper said. “You lose 10 of them to weather right off the bat and each additional weather day or each big event (like Taste of Madison, Art Fair on the Square and Concerts on the Square) takes customers. But I think this location is going to be spectacular.”
Marshall Park had its beginnings in December 1956 when the city purchased 27 acres of land from Dr. George J. Maloof. The park was named in 1961 after James G. Marshall, the city’s first parks superintendent who served in that role from 1937 to 1969 and increased city parkland from 350 acres to more than 3,000. He also oversaw the development of Odana Hills and Yahara Hills golf courses. Another 15 acres of land was added to Marshall Park in 1979 with the purchase of the Mary North property to the south, according to city records.
Leeper has plans to add water-focused youth camps, more slips to his pier and is considering the addition of fishing boats.
He also wants to better utilize the 24-foot wide, 76-foot-long rooftop deck. Leeper has built tables from old docks he pulled from Lake Wingra and has purchased 80 decorative aluminum chairs for seating. He envisions a rooftop cafe someday and below wants to cut windows into the old changing room to provide better views of the lake for his staff. The concession stand sells soda, water, ice cream and has an oven to cook frozen pizzas.
The waters off the park aren’t as affected by the prevailing winds that can pound the east and north shorelines. Marshall Park is also ideal for events thanks to ample parking, a woods and a shelter close to the beach house, something Leeper will test out in September when he is married on the property.
“It’s an exciting development for me,” Leeper said. “It was very clear from the beginning that this was a new location that could offer a lot of new opportunities.”
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Information from: Wisconsin State Journal, https://www.madison.com/wsj
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