Gebhardt wasted no time getting into development

Otto Gebhardt began in real estate by working in the family business when he was 7, and he made his first offer on a property at age 13.

Now a Madison developer specializing in urban infill, he has taken the lessons he learned at a young age and used them to establish his niche as a developer. Most importantly, he said, he has learned to believe that developers and others in real estate have a responsibility to use sustainable building practices and to design projects that are able to meet the lasting needs of a community.

“Since we were kids, I always believed that was the way,” he said.

His real-estate portfolio, begun when he bought his first property at the age of 18, includes about 1,500 commercial and residential units in Madison and Sun Prairie. His recent efforts have been mainly directed toward Madison’s East Washington Avenue Corridor.

In 2013, he helped complete the The Constellation — a 12-story, mixed-use building that houses Google’s Madison office and 220 apartments. And he is still working on The Galaxie, a 14-story, mixed-use building that will include 201 apartments and rely on a truss system made from reclaimed ash trees to serve as the structural support for a grocery store.

Now he has turned his attention to a third parcel in the East Washington Avenue Corridor. The building he is proposing for the site would be a 10- to 12-story high-rise standing on a city-owned parcel of land, a former auto dealership purchased by the city several years ago. This proposed project is intended to provide office space for start-ups and small businesses, as well as a performance venue.

Gebhardt said he prefers this type of development, which allows him to fill in gaps in a neighborhood and connect and support the amenities that already exist.

“It’s almost putting the final piece in place,” he said.

With his preference for infill, Gebhardt said he does not feel limited by the constraints of established sites. Rather, the inherent difficulties provide an opportunity to build something that will merge seamlessly with the surrounding community.

“We just really love to see that,” he said, “when it all interacts like we thought it would.”