StartingBlock Madison’s future building, the Spark, received a conditional permit for construction at a recent Madison Plan Commission meeting.

The vote was unanimous, and it was the final public approval needed. According to Executive Director Scott Resnick, construction is expected to begin “in a few weeks.”

The eight-story building, which will be developed by American Family Insurance, will be located at the east corner of East Washington Avenue and South Livingston Street.

In other news, StartingBlock Madison recently received a $1.5 million grant from the City of Madison.

“StartingBlock is an incredible public-private partnership,” Resnick said. “This grant will pay for approximately half of the tenant build-out for the space, matched by donations by other corporate and institutional partners.”

As previously reported, the anticipated opening date is 2019.