MADISON, Wis. -- A controversial redevelopment of the Midvale Plaza Shopping Center goes before the Madison Plan Commission Monday night.

After a year of discussion, the developer and some residents are still far apart on what's best for the neighborhood.

Developer Joe Krupp said his project could set a precedent for some 50 other redevelopment projects poised for similar neighborhoods citywide.

At issue is his plan for the 1960s shopping center on Midvale and Tokay. It's old, weathered -- and very popular with neighborhood residents. They have a library branch, a local drug store, a unique cafe and other stores that cater to a steady stream of low-key customers.

But, Joe Krupp's $25 million redevelopment is about to rock the world of this quiet residential area, in more ways than one.

Don Severson, the Midvale Heights Community Association's co-chair of the Midvale Redevelopment Steering Committee said, "You're really building a whole bunch of silos right in the middle of the cornfield, if you will. This is out of character."

The proposed two-phase, three-year project would demolish the current retail center and a vacant building. The plan would put in its place a four-story retail-residential redevelopment that would eventually hold 42 condos and 100 apartments as well as a bigger branch library and 7,200 square feet of retail space.

But leaders of the Midvale and Westmorland neighborhood groups say the project is simply too big for the area.

"The scale, the size, the massiveness of the new development is just overwhelming in the context of the neighborhood," said Westmorland Neighborhood Association Co-Chairman Bonnie McMullin. "People have also expressed a lot of concern about the fact that they might lose the retail businesses that they've come to know and support."

"It's not out of line to have some residential and retail," said Severson. "We're not saying, 'Not in my backyard, zero.'"

But, neighborhood critics would like to see major changes in the design of the space, including reducing the number of units almost by half and limiting traffic on a residential street.

Developer Joe Krupp said he's already made major traffic and design changes. He also said that reducing the number of units is too risky, financially.

"It's financially challenged," said Krupp. "The feasibility of the project really depends on this kind of level of density. It's unlikely that the projects coming forward on sites similar to this in the future, won't have the same issue," said Krupp.

Neighborhood groups claim they have 600 signatures on their proposal to have an "ideal" 57 housing units no more than three-stories high. But Krupp said that's not necessary to fit in with the neighborhood.

He maintains his project does meet the city's newly adopted comprehensive plan for lower-density areas, and he said his model could usher in similar projects at 50 other sites citywide.