A Madison nonprofit that ships donated medical equipment to communities overseas is suing the city over its removal from a former Centro Hispano building on West Badger Road, arguing it was denied notice and relocation assistance required under state law. Wisconsin Medical Project operated for roughly a decade in about 3,000 square feet at 810 W. Badger Road. The volunteer-run group collects hospital beds, wheelchairs, walkers and other supplies and sends them to countries including Liberia, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Senegal. Madison bought the property from Centro Hispano for $1.7 million in February 2023 as part of the city’s broader support for the Centro Hispano redevelopment project. The nonprofit remained in the building as a subtenant through the end of that year. In October 2023, the city told Wisconsin Medical Project it would not renew its lease after Dec. 31. The organization moved out when the sublease expired. The nonprofit does not dispute that it was told the lease would end. Its lawsuit argues that the city also should have issued formal displacement notices and helped pay for moving, finding a new facility and higher rental costs. “It felt quick,” warehouse manager Russ Koval said, recalling that the group believed it might have until spring to relocate. Instead, he said, volunteers had roughly 60 days to find a warehouse, rent vehicles and decide what equipment they could take. Wisconsin Medical Project brought its complaint to the Wisconsin Department of Administration in 2024. The agency ruled the complaint unreasonable, finding that the nonprofit was not a “displaced person” under the applicable relocation law. The state said Madison honored the approved sublease through its expiration and was not required to offer a new lease. The agency also found that no federal funds were used to purchase the Badger Road property. Although federal American Rescue Plan Act money helped support Centro Hispano’s new facility on Cypress Way, the state concluded that funding did not legally displace the nonprofit from the former Centro building. The lawsuit challenges that conclusion. Wisconsin Medical Project attorney Matthew McClean argues that the state considered the property purchase too narrowly and should have evaluated the larger redevelopment effort, which included federal funding. Madison records show that the Common Council in April 2022 authorized city departments to support the Centro redevelopment. The resolution contemplated transferring city property for Centro’s new facility and negotiating the purchase of the Badger Road building. It also noted that Dane County had received about $4.8 million through Wisconsin’s Neighborhood Investment Fund for the project. The state says that fund was supported by federal pandemic-relief money. The records describe the property purchase, the transfer of land for Centro’s new building and a leaseback arrangement as connected elements of the redevelopment. They do not resolve whether those connections made Wisconsin Medical Project eligible for relocation benefits. The nonprofit also disputes how much time it received to leave. The state rule cited in the administrative decision says that, in some projects without federal funding, a tenant may be excluded from the definition of a displaced person if it can remain through the end of its lease, 180 days, half the lease term or another period set by the condemning authority—whichever is longer. McClean said the nonprofit was given only the period from its October 2023 notice to the end of December and therefore did not receive 180 days. Wisconsin Medical Project says the move has had lasting financial and operational effects. Volunteers used a semi-truck, a 48-foot trailer and other vehicles instead of hiring commercial movers. A board member spent weeks searching for a replacement site. The nonprofit’s current warehouse is about one-third smaller than its former space, Koval said, and the group has sometimes needed trailers and off-site storage for donated equipment. The reduced space has made it harder to sort, store and prepare supplies for overseas shipments. The lawsuit seeks $5,000 for locating and re-establishing the nonprofit at a new site, $10,000 in moving expenses, up to $80,000 in rental assistance and $50,000 for alleged due-process violations, in addition to other relief. Before filing suit, the group submitted a $55,000 displacement claim to Madison. The Common Council rejected that claim March 10. Filed July 30 in Dane County Circuit Court, the lawsuit alleges violations of relocation-benefit requirements, fraudulent concealment and constitutional due-process protections. The city declined to comment further because the case is pending. City Attorney Michael Haas said Madison is on “solid legal footing” and pointed to the state’s determination that the nonprofit was not eligible for relocation assistance. The former Centro Hispano building has been demolished. The site is now part of Madison’s Park Badger redevelopment, which is planned to include 221 income-restricted apartments, a new Fire Station 6 and a Public Health Madison and Dane County facility. Construction is expected to begin in late 2026 and continue into the second half of 2028.