Developer: Hotel Northland will be open in a year in downtown Green Bay

GREEN BAY — There’s a lot of work to do, but developers of the Hotel Northland are putting dates on their schedule.

“One year from now, we are going to stand here having a beautiful hotel, repurposed and refurbished,” said Mike Frantz, managing partner of Frantz-Hobart Investments. “We plan a soft opening by this time next year and be fully open in July.”

Reclamation of the downtown Green Bay hotel, which made its debut 90 years ago but has not been used as such for more than three decades, is the next big project in the city’s ongoing downtown redevelopment plan.

Frantz Community Investors, chosen by the city to return the Northland to a high-end downtown destination, discussed its plans for the 304 N. Adams St. site with community leaders recently and accepted a $500,000 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

Mayor Jim Schmitt called the Northland “economically significant, architecturally significant and socially significant. This project will net out a little over $30 million. The city is in.”

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based developer does not yet own the property but has a purchase agreement with owner Wisconsin Housing Preservation Corp. Frantz said they are near closing on the property. Construction is expected to begin in August.

As it now stands, the $30 million-plus project will include seven layers of financing, including $2.5 million in tax increment finance money from the city, a $500,000 Community Development Investment Grant from the state, bank financing, developer equity, New Market Tax Credits, federal historic tax credits and state historic tax credits.

“An historic restoration project is always a complex financial arrangement,” said John Bradley, president and CEO of Frantz Community Investors.

Bradley said they expect to name a contractor for the project soon. Kahler Slater Inc. of Milwaukee is the project architect.

The hotel is expected to create 160 jobs and add $12 million in value to the city’s property tax base.

According to the city’s Northland website, it was the largest hotel in Wisconsin when it opened on March 21, 1924. Valued at $1 million, it was said to have the finest ballroom outside of Milwaukee.

In its heyday, the Northland was the overnight hotel for NFL teams, a hangout for Green Bay Packers and gathering place for the community.

Steve Frantz, director of hotel management for the developer, said they would be willing to discuss whether it could host NFL teams again, as some Packers fans have suggested, but it might not be the best use of the property. Frantz said it would be better for downtown to have football fans staying at the 170-room hotel and spending money at restaurants, bars and stores.

“NFL teams typically are on lockdown. Fans will spend money downtown,” he said.

Instead, they would rather attract an NFL owners’ meeting to Green Bay and the Northland. Frantz said that probably hasn’t happened since the Northland stopped being a hotel.

“It would be nice to fill the hotel with a bunch of multimillionaires. And they typically bring support staff and stay a week,” he said.

Reported by:  Postcrescent.com