New Hilton-branded hotel chain proposes first Wisconsin location in Town of Brookfield

A new Hilton-branded hotel chain that operates in just four states wants to open its first Wisconsin location in the Town of Brookfield.

The 82-room Tru by Hilton hotel would be developed at the site of what is now an empty three-story, 24,000-square-foot office building at 20925 Watertown Road, according to information filed with town officials.

That site is just north of I-94, and just east of a 105-room Home 2 Suites by Hilton hotel, which opened last November at 650 Larry Court.

The Home 2 Suites, a middle-market extended-stay chain, is operated by Kinseth Hospitalty Cos., based in North Liberty, Iowa.

Kinseth Hospitality also is involved with the Tru proposal. Bruce Kinseth, executive vice president, couldn't be reached for more information.

Tru's developers want to demolish the office building and replace it with a four-story, 82-room hotel, according to Tom Hagie, town administrator, and Gary Lake, town building inspector.

That project would cost an estimated $11.7 million, Lake said.

Hilton in 2016 announced the launch of the mid-scale Tru brand.

Tru has just four locations in Georgia, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Wyoming. It has eight more hotels opening this year and in 2018 in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Maine, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas, according to the hotel chain's website.

Other locations, including the Town of Brookfield site, are in the planning and approval process.

The town Plan Commission is recommending the Town Board set a date for a public hearing on the developers' request to rezone the proposed site to accommodate a hotel, Lake said.

If the board sets a date at its Tuesday meeting, the hearing would likely occur on Sept. 25, he said.

The Tru chain features what it calls "smaller, more efficiently designed rooms."

The room design includes an open closet, "colorful wall hooks," shelves under the TV and space beneath the bed to store clothes and luggage, the Tru website says.

The rooms don't have desk space. Instead, Tru has "semi-private, sound absorbing alcoves," as well as shared work space, in its lobby. That includes free wireless printing.

Other features include a fitness center, table and board games in the lobby, and 55-inch TVs with 150 DirecTV channels in the guest rooms.

The Brookfield Tru hotel would be just under 1 mile northwest of The Corners, a large mixed-use development that opened this spring and summer.

It would be among a growing number of new developments opening near The Corners, which has shops, restaurants, apartments and a planned upscale cinema east of N. Barker Road, between W. Blue Mound Road and I-94.

Source:  JSOnline.com