Park East Hotel to be closed, redeveloped as 96 apartments
Downtown Milwaukee’s Park East Hotel, which closes this week, is being sold to a group of developers who will convert it into 96 apartments.
The five-story, 160-room hotel, 916 E. State St., is being sold to Park East Propco LLC, owner Ajit “Jay” Walia said.
Park East Propco was formed in July, according to state corporation records. Its registered agent is Klein Real Estate Development Inc.
Mike Klein, of Klein Real Estate Development, and his partner, Jeno Cataldo, are planning a substantial redevelopment of the hotel. Cataldo in August registered a new company: JC Capital Park East LLC.
“We’re going to make it beautiful,” Cataldo said Tuesday.
Their plans include adding a sixth, penthouse level, he said, as well as converting the former bar into retail space that could include a coffee shop. The 58-year-old building also will have an updated facade.
The project’s partners include Millennial Partners, a group with investors in Milwaukee and Florida, Klein said.
Klein Development and Cataldo are partners on a proposed five-story, 96-unit apartment development at
1632 N. Franklin Place, on the east side.
They plan to start construction this fall on both apartment developments, and have them completed by fall 2018, Cataldo said.
The Park East Hotel’s Durbar Lounge, 1011 N. Astor St., closed on Saturday, Walia said. The planned hotel closing is Thursday, he said.
The hotel was known as the Milwaukee Inn when it opened in 1959. It was sold in 1969 to Towne Realty Inc., which 10 years later sold the renamed Park East Hotel to an investors group led by Oliver Plunkett, a Milwaukee developer.
Plunkett later was sentenced to prison after defrauding investors. Towne bought back the Park East in 1982 after Plunkett declared bankruptcy.
Towne Realty sold the hotel in 2003 to Walia and his brother, Harjeet, who operate several Milwaukee-area gas stations and convenience stores. Starting in 2006, the hotel was operated under the Comfort Inn brand for several years before that franchise agreement ended.
In preparation for the sale to Park East Propco, Ajit and Harjeet Walia bought the hotel from their company, Park East Milwaukee LLC, for $9 million, according to state real estate records posted Tuesday.