Which hotels under construction will be open in time for the DNC in 2020?
Some may spend extra to speed up construction
Some Milwaukee-area hotels that are now starting construction will not be open in time for the Democratic National Convention in July 2020.
That’s the word from developers contacted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel over the past week — one year before the convention brings an estimated 50,000 visitors to southeastern Wisconsin.
That doesn’t mean local organizers are falling short on hotel rooms committed for the event — one of the biggest conventions ever for Milwaukee.
To secure the DNC, organizers had to provide commitments for at least 15,000 hotel rooms throughout the metro area for convention delegates and others attending the event.
“Yes, we have enough rooms,” said Greg Marcus, chief executive officer and president of Milwaukee-based hotel operator Marcus Corp. “We’re going to be crowded, but we’ll have enough to do it.”
That count included hotels that were well under construction when the DNC announced in March the selection of Milwaukee as the host city.
But it didn’t include other projects that were just about to begin construction — yet were in the realm of possibly being done by July 2020.
“There were no imaginary rooms,” Marcus said.
Some hotel operators told the Journal Sentinel in March that they might spend extra money to speed up construction to
open by the time delegates and others pour into downtown Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum and other venues.
A new hotel should be open at least 30 days before the convention “to get the bugs out,” said Greg Hanis, an industry consultant.
It takes about nine months to build a typical limited-service hotel, such as a Fairfield Inn or Holiday Inn Express, said Hanis, who operates New Berlinbased Hospitality Marketers Inc.
That construction schedule expands to around 12 months when the hotel includes a full-service restaurant, he said.
Here’s the latest roundup of pending projects — including 10 hotels totaling 1,300 rooms that are to open by the DNC:
Holiday Inn Express and Home2 Suites/Tru
Those two downtown hotels, with three brands totaling 328 rooms, will be in a pair of adjacent six-story buildings at 433 E. Michigan St.
Bloomington, Minnesota-based JR Hospitality Group LLC is demolishing an empty office building to make way for the new development. Another building at that site has already been razed.
Jay Bhakta, JR Hospitality managing partner, told the Journal Sentinel in March that he would consider spending extra money to expedite construction.
And, while the firm continues to “explore acceleration options,” Bhakta said recently that the current schedule calls for the hotels to open in August 2020.
“So, at the moment it does not look like we will open for DNC,” he said.
Milwaukee Athletic Club hotel
Milwaukee developers Joshua Jeffers and Tony Janowiec started work in late spring to create a 96-room boutique hotel as part of a remodeling project at the Milwaukee Athletic Club, 758 N. Broadway.
That hotel, which doesn’t yet have a name, initially was to open by June 2020.
“We are doing everything possible to ensure we are done in time for the DNC,” Jeffers said in March.
But the hotel won’t be hosting DNC visitors, Jeffers said recently.
“We will be open a little later in the year,” he said.
Kinn Hotel
Charles Bailey, who operates the eight-room Kinn Guesthouse at 2535 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., wants to develop a Kinn Hotel at 600 N. Broadway.
His plans initially called for 62 rooms by blending an existing four-story building with five more floors built atop it.
But Bailey downsized his proposal to a three-story addition, with the hotel totaling 45 rooms.
Those changes were made after city planners raised concerns about the effect the addition would have on the East Side Commercial Historic District.
Bailey hasn’t yet returned to the Historic Preservation Commission with a revised proposal.
He recently told the Journal Sentinel that it is “very, very unlikely” that the Kinn Hotel would be open for the DNC.
Ikon Hotel
A proposal to provide a $4 million city loan to help finance a boutique hotel planned for Milwaukee’s north side was unveiled two weeks after the DNC announcement.
Local developer Kalan Haywood plans to convert a former Sears store, 2100 W. North Ave., into the Ikon Hotel with around 80 rooms, a rooftop restaurant and co-working space on the street level.
Haywood also plans to build an adjacent conference center.
The Common Council in May voted 12-3 to approve the loan despite concerns about its risk.
Ald. Russell Stamper, whose district includes the site, told his fellow council members that delaying the loan would hurt efforts to complete the hotel by the DNC.
That goal now appears unattainable. A building permit application filed in late June is still undergoing a review by the city Department of Neighborhood Services.
Haywood didn’t respond to requests for information about when the Ikon is expected to open.
Historic Koeffler Inn
Milwaukee’s Fixx Development LLC on July 8 received Historic Preservation Commission approval for plans to convert a historic former house, later used for offices, into a 15-room boutique hotel at 817-819 N. Marshall St.
The Historic Koeffler Inn, on downtown’s east side, will include a cocktail lounge.
The hotel’s name is an homage to the 121-year-old building’s original use as a home for prominent attorney Charles A. Koeffler.
“We plan to begin renovations in Fall, complete in Spring, and YES, be open for DNC,” Juli Kaufmann, Fixx Development operator, wrote in an email.
Hampton Inn
A four-story, 90-room Hampton Inn, planned for 7065 N. Port Washington Road, Glendale, was approved by city officials this spring.
Chicago-based developer Odyssey Hotels LLC then demolished the former North Shore Events Centre to make way for the new hotel.
Construction started this summer, and the hotel is to open by fall 2020, said Odyssey owner Rachit Dhingra.
Odyssey operates two other neighboring hotels, a Residence Inn and a Fairfield Inn, that will pick up DNC business.
Marriott Renaissance Hotel
Work had just started on converting an 11-story office building, at 2300 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa, into a 12-story, 196-room Marriott Renaissance Hotel when the DNC announcement was made.
That project is to be completed by June 2020, and be open in time for the convention. It will be the first Marriott Renaissance in Wisconsin.
The Renaissance Hotel will include a chef-driven destination restaurant, a fitness center and an upscale lobby/ lounge bar.
The hotel also will feature a rooftop event space, with an outdoor terrace.
It is being developed by Milwaukeebased HKS Holdings LLC in a partnership with Raleigh, North Carolina-based Concord Hospitality Enterprises Co.
Holiday Inn Express/West Allis
Work is to begin in early fall on the 107-room Holiday Inn Express, 10201 W. Lincoln Ave., West Allis. It will replace an office building that will be demolished.
The hotel is to open by July 1, said John Ford, a partner in Milwaukeebased Catalyst Partners Lincoln LLC, which is developing the project.
“We’d like to be open for the DNC,” Ford said.
The hotel’s financing would include $1.45 million in city funds under a new proposal recommended for approval by the West Allis Community Development Authority.
That financing proposal, which will undergo a Common Council review on Aug. 6, would provide cash from new property tax revenue generated by the Holiday Inn Express.
Others that will be open
Other hotels that were well under construction when the DNC announcement occurred will be opening this year and in early 2020.
They include two downtown Milwaukee hotels: a 132-room Cambria Hotel, 503 N. Plankinton Ave., and a 223-room Drury Plaza Hotel, 700 N. Water St.
Also opening well before the DNC are four hotels in the town and city of Brookfield: an 82-room Tru, 20925 Watertown Road; a 132-room Holiday Inn Express and a 137-room Fairfield Inn at The Corridor mixed-use development; and a 170-room Hilton Garden Inn, 115 S. Moorland Road.
Finally, a 108-room Fairfield Inn is opening at 4229 W. National Ave., West Milwaukee.
Others that won’t be open
Meanwhile, there are other proposed hotels that hope to begin construction in 2019, but aren’t opening before July 2020.
They include two downtown Milwaukee hotels that would renovate historic buildings: a 50-room Wyndham Hotel, at 419 W. Vliet St., and a 220room hotel at the former Humphrey Scottish Rite Masonic Center, 790 N. Van Buren St.
Also, local developer Jay Walia hopes to begin construction in October on a 135-room Staybridge Suites at 1441 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa. But that construction start could be delayed until March, he said.
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.