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Madison Magazine

Empty Nesters

Florence and Paul DeLuca used to live on the far west side of town. They were happy there. It was close to the medical school where Paul worked. They loved their house and the tree-lined streets of their neighborhood. But Florence found herself daydreaming about living in the heart of the city.

"I got it in my head that I wanted to move downtown," says Florence.

So they did.

The DeLucas were some of the first people to move into the Marina, the metal-clad building facing John Nolen Drive and Lake Monona. Now Florence walks to Jacobson Bros. to buy meat. She walks to the library to borrow books. She and Paul can even walk to Overture Center to see plays at the Madison Repertory Theatre.

"I hate to drive and I love walking down here," she says. "No more looking for parking."

Downsizing, though, was a challenge. Although the DeLucas lost only four hundred square feet of living space, they had a full garage and basement that they used for storage. So they worked with interior designer Laurel McManus Brown, president of architecutre and interior design firm Brownhouse, to pack their condominium with clever closets and other spaces for stowing their belongings. The bedroom window ledges have deep built-in drawers. The laundry room hosts a wine cooler.

Shedding some old belongings allowed the DeLucas to buy some new furniture of a more appropriate scale and design for their new urban home. Florence even traveled to High Point, North Carolina, with Brown to make selections. "It's the furniture capital -- furniture Mecca -- of the world," Brown says. "There's over a million square feet of showroom."

The DeLucas are quickly adjusting to condo living. "At first I thought it was going to be strange, but now I love it," Florence says. "I guess we just like being a part of downtown. It's a fun place to be."

One of the Parade units at the Marina has more than seventeen hundred square feet of living space and lists for $619,900.