Milwaukee River Hilton may be converted to Holiday Inn

Glendale's Milwaukee River Hilton Hotel, which faces the prospect of closing when its franchise expires in April, would undergo extensive renovations and become a Holiday Inn under a new proposal.

The plan surfaces after city officials, fearing a loss of a major hotel, last fall rejected a proposal to convert the Hilton into student housing.

CMH Milwaukee River Inn LLC, an investors group whose members own hotels in West Virginia and Canada, has the 162-room Hilton, 4700 N. Port Washington Road, under contract, according to a Glendale Plan Commission review application.

CMH would remodel the entire hotel, which opened in 1974. That plan includes expanding the lobby to give it a new bar area, with views of the Milwaukee River and a more contemporary look.

The ballroom and meeting spaces also would be renovated. And the hotel's guest rooms would get new bathrooms, carpets, furniture and other upgrades, the application said.

CMH is negotiating with the Holiday Inn franchise to give the hotel a new brand once the Hilton franchise expires in April, the application said. CMH is conducting its due diligence review of the property and hopes to take ownership around April 15.

The Holiday Inn would be managed by Greenbelt, Md.-based Chesapeake Hospitality Management.

CMH is being represented by Nagib Lakhani, president of Issaquah, Wash.-based RevenueMax Hospitality Consulting Services Inc. Lakhani couldn't be reached for comment Thursday.

The application doesn't name CMH's owners. It says one owner has nine hotels and other business interests in Canada, while another Canadian owner "has interests in real estate and other businesses in major cities." The West Virginia investor owns three hotels and has other real estate interests, the application said.

The Hilton's current owner, the estate of Houston developer Jim Grisebaum, last year sought city permission to convert the hotel to housing for up to 324 Chinese students attending Milwaukee-area private high schools.

At meetings in September and October, the Glendale Common Council unanimously blocked that proposal from the for-profit Wisconsin International Academy.

Council members said they were concerned about losing hotel room tax revenue. They also said the Hilton and its Anchorage restaurant are major destinations.

The Hilton's customers include travelers drawn from two nearby business parks, Estabrook Corporate Park and Glendale Technology Center. Several residents and business operators from Glendale and other North Shore communities sent letters and emails to city officials opposing the academy's proposal.

The current owners said last year the hotel would likely close in April, once the Hilton franchise expired, because of a lack of interest from other investors in buying the hotel. They said the hotel has a $5 million debt, and is no longer meeting the standards to keep the Hilton franchise.

The Glendale Plan Commission is to review the CMH proposal at its March 11 meeting.

Wisconsin International Academy now plans to buy and convert the 127-room Days Inn hotel, at 11811 W. Blue Mound Road, and its restaurant and banquet center into the Wisconsin International Center. That proposal has received approval from the Wauwatosa Plan Commission and is scheduled for a Common Council public hearing on Tuesday.

Reported by:  JSOnline.com