Office building near convention center to be converted to hotel
An older, underused office building near downtown Milwaukee's convention center would be converted into a hotel under a new proposal.
Jackson Street Acquisitions LLC, led by hotel developers Ed Carow and Mark Flaherty, is planning to invest $17 million on the purchase and conversion of the six-story Commerce Building, 744 N. 4th St., according to Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. records.
Construction is to be completed in November 2015, the state agency said.
Jackson Street Acquisitions is in final talks with the building owner, and preliminary talks with potential franchisers for the hotel brand, spokesman Evan Zeppos said Thursday.
The location, just east of the Wisconsin Center convention facility, is "ideal" to tap into group business, Zeppos said. He declined comment on the number of rooms, and other plan details.
Hotel plans have not yet been filed with the Department of City Development, said department spokesman Jeff Fleming.
The 95,834-square-foot building, which includes 133 underground parking spaces, is operated by Zilber Property Group. It is tied to the city's sky walk system, which also links to the Wisconsin Center.
The Commerce Building is large enough to support around 125 to 135 rooms, said consultant Greg Hanis, who operates Hospitality Marketers Inc.
The hotel proposal is among a series of Milwaukee-area projects that have received state historic preservation tax credits as part of their financing packages, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.
State and federal tax credits are provided to compensate commercial building owners for part of their costs to preserve historic buildings. Gov. Scott Walker and the Legislature, with bipartisan support, last year increased the state credit from 5% of those eligible costs to 20%--the same level as the federal credit.
WEDC has suspended the credit while it studies its impact on the state budget.The agency said 29 projects already have been approved, and are eligible for a potential $35 million in state tax credits. That's nearly nine times the $4 million set aside for the program in the state budget for its first year.
Those projects which have already received approval for the credit, and are not affected by the suspension, include the proposed downtown hotel. The hotel plan, unlike most of the Milwaukee area's approved projects, hadn't been previously reported.
The Commerce Building was built in 1918, according to Zilber Property Group. The state credit for that project totals $3.4 million.
Carow and Flaherty also operate Jackson Street Management LLC, which plans to develop a 200-room Westin Hotel near downtown Milwaukee's lakefront.
That site, about a half-block south of E. Michigan St., between N. Cass and N. Van Buren streets, is between the U.S. Bank Center's galleria and that office tower's parking structure north of E. Clybourn St. It would connect to the galleria.
Jackson Street Management also operates the 160-room Aloft Hotel, 1230 N. Old World 3rd St., and the new 205-room Marriott Hotel, 323 E. Wisconsin Ave.
Demand for Milwaukee hotel rooms increased 8.5% in 2013, while the city's supply of hotel rooms increased 8%, according to Visit Milwaukee, which markets the city to tourists and convention planners.
Reported by: JSOnline.com
Jackson Street Acquisitions LLC, led by hotel developers Ed Carow and Mark Flaherty, is planning to invest $17 million on the purchase and conversion of the six-story Commerce Building, 744 N. 4th St., according to Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. records.
Construction is to be completed in November 2015, the state agency said.
Jackson Street Acquisitions is in final talks with the building owner, and preliminary talks with potential franchisers for the hotel brand, spokesman Evan Zeppos said Thursday.
The location, just east of the Wisconsin Center convention facility, is "ideal" to tap into group business, Zeppos said. He declined comment on the number of rooms, and other plan details.
Hotel plans have not yet been filed with the Department of City Development, said department spokesman Jeff Fleming.
The 95,834-square-foot building, which includes 133 underground parking spaces, is operated by Zilber Property Group. It is tied to the city's sky walk system, which also links to the Wisconsin Center.
The Commerce Building is large enough to support around 125 to 135 rooms, said consultant Greg Hanis, who operates Hospitality Marketers Inc.
The hotel proposal is among a series of Milwaukee-area projects that have received state historic preservation tax credits as part of their financing packages, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.
State and federal tax credits are provided to compensate commercial building owners for part of their costs to preserve historic buildings. Gov. Scott Walker and the Legislature, with bipartisan support, last year increased the state credit from 5% of those eligible costs to 20%--the same level as the federal credit.
WEDC has suspended the credit while it studies its impact on the state budget.The agency said 29 projects already have been approved, and are eligible for a potential $35 million in state tax credits. That's nearly nine times the $4 million set aside for the program in the state budget for its first year.
Those projects which have already received approval for the credit, and are not affected by the suspension, include the proposed downtown hotel. The hotel plan, unlike most of the Milwaukee area's approved projects, hadn't been previously reported.
The Commerce Building was built in 1918, according to Zilber Property Group. The state credit for that project totals $3.4 million.
Carow and Flaherty also operate Jackson Street Management LLC, which plans to develop a 200-room Westin Hotel near downtown Milwaukee's lakefront.
That site, about a half-block south of E. Michigan St., between N. Cass and N. Van Buren streets, is between the U.S. Bank Center's galleria and that office tower's parking structure north of E. Clybourn St. It would connect to the galleria.
Jackson Street Management also operates the 160-room Aloft Hotel, 1230 N. Old World 3rd St., and the new 205-room Marriott Hotel, 323 E. Wisconsin Ave.
Demand for Milwaukee hotel rooms increased 8.5% in 2013, while the city's supply of hotel rooms increased 8%, according to Visit Milwaukee, which markets the city to tourists and convention planners.
Reported by: JSOnline.com
