Welcome to the Neighborhood!

Located just south of the University of Wisconsin campus, the Greenbush and Vilas neighborhoods are home to families, young adults and long-time residents in one of Madison's most historic districts.

The neighborhoods are ideally situated within walking distance of the campus, Meriter and St. Mary's hospitals, three vibrant retail areas, Lake Wingra and Monona Bay, the Vilas Zoo, the Neighborhood House community center, Brittingham, Klief and Vilas parks and much more. The Kohl Center, home to Badger basketball and hockey and many other events, is a short walk away.

It's easy to get around the neighborhood, which is served by multiple bus lines and bike routes and it has been scored one of the city's most walkable neighborhoods.

And Greenbush-Vilas is only a short drive, bus ride or bike trip to downtown Madison with a great selection of restaurants and music venues, State Street, the Overture Center for the Arts and the Capitol Square.

Whether you're a current resident or someone looking to locate here, welcome to the Greenbush-Vilas Partnership website. We hope you'll find it useful!

What We Do

The Greenbush-Vilas Partnership is designed to link neighborhoods, businesses, employers, property owners, local government, city and regional leaders and developers in a coordinated effort to build on the already successful Greenbush and Vilas neighborhoods.

Working with a diverse group of stakeholders on its Community Advisory Council, the Partnership is working on initiatives to increase home ownership and quality rental opportunities in the neighborhood and to support local business development in the commercial corridors on Monroe, Regent and Parks streets.

For our guiding documents we use plans adopted by the City of Madison and approved by the neighborhoods, most notably "A Revitalization Strategy: Supplement to the Greenbush and Vilas Neighborhood Plans."

The boundaries of the Greenbush-Vilas Partnership encompass all of Madison's historic Greenbush Neighborhood, which lies east of Randall Avenue, and about half of the Vilas Neighborhood west of Randall. The Greenbush and Vilas neighborhoods lie in a central location, just south of the UW campus. The district is home to Meriter and St. Mary's hospitals.

About the Partnership

The Greenbush-Vilas Partnership was initiated in 2011. It was originally supported by Meriter Hospital, St. Mary's Hospital, the University of Wisconsin Madison, Park Bank, Madison Gas & Electric, and the First Weber Foundation. Each of these partners provided financial support and guidance for this effort. Meriter, St. Mary's and the UW all anchor the area as major employers with an interest in the neighborhoods' health.

The direction of the Partnership is further guided by a group of neighborhood stakeholders on the Greenbush-Vilas Community Advisory Council.

From 2011 through 2015 the focus was on the revitalization of owner-occupied housing in the area. In 2016 a new partnership was formed with Vandewalle & Associates to work on a visioning process for Regent Street.