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Kimpton Hotels & Resorts Plans Upscale 158-room Boutique
Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin


Developed by HKS Holdings and Owned by Chicago Street Holdings, Property Expected to Open in 2015

By Tom Daykin and Paul Gores, Milwaukee Journal SentinelMcClatchy-Tribune Regional News

Feb. 26, 2013--San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants said Monday it will enter the Milwaukee market with the management of a new upscale hotel on the northeast corner of E. Chicago St. and N. Broadway in the city's historic Third Ward.

The 158-room boutique hotel would feature an eight-story building housing a restaurant on the ground floor, plus a rooftop bar, fitness center and meeting space. The hotel is scheduled to open in 2015.

A new Kimpton, coming as other hotel projects now are open or under way in the city, would "elevate Milwaukee even further into a major hotel market," said hotel industry consultant Greg Hanis.

"Kimpton has always been highly regarded for their quality, their management style, the guest experience, etc.," said Hanis, president of Hospitality Marketers Inc. of New Berlin.

Information on the cost and financing of the Kimpton project wasn't immediately available, but Milwaukee Development Commissioner Rocky Marcoux said there is "no city money" or assistance in the project. He said the city's philosophy is that hotels have to be market-driven.

"That type of investment, which will be a large investment, is not going to go into the market unless those who are putting this deal together feel confident it's going to be a great place to invest, which it is," Marcoux said.

In a statement, Mike Depatie, chief executive of Kimpton, said the hotel chain has been interested in Milwaukee for a while.

"We're thrilled to be growing our Kimpton footprint in the Midwest. Milwaukee, in particular the Third Ward and its eclectic and artistic character, fits perfectly with our hotel collection," Depatie said.

Marcoux pointed out the hotel won't be far from the Reed Street Yards, the name for a proposed business park for water technologies.

The hotel is being designed by Kahler Slater Architects and developed by HKS Holdings LLC. The project will be owned by Chicago Street Holdings LLC.

The development site is now a parking lot. Jackson Street Holdings LLC, which is building a 200-room Marriott near the southeast corner of E. Wisconsin Ave. and N. Milwaukee St., is expected to sell the site for the Kimpton project.

HKS is led by Tyler Hawley and Kyle Strigenz. Their other developments include Dwell, a 70-unit upscale apartment building that opened last year in Bay View, at 2440 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., and the current conversion of the former JH Collectibles clothing factory into the 50-unit Junior House Lofts apartments at 710 S. 3rd St., in Walker's Point.

Hotel renaissance

The Kimpton would be the latest in a series of new hotels in downtown Milwaukee. An increase in business travel has been the main driver of those projects.

A 128-room Hilton Garden Inn opened last fall at the northwest corner of N. Broadway and E. Michigan St.

The 90-room Brew House Inn & Suites is to open in May at the former Pabst brewery complex, and the Marriott is opening this fall.

There are now 3,902 hotel rooms within one mile of the Delta Center convention facility, says Visit Milwaukee, the city's convention marketer

Both the Brew House Inn and the Marriott are being largely financed by foreign investors through the EB-5 program. That program allows foreign citizens to obtain U.S. residency visas by investing in job-creating projects. The two-year visa can be converted into a green card, which provides permanent U.S. residency privileges for the investor, the investor's spouse and children. Opponents of the program say it distorts the market by providing the green cards as an investment incentive.

Hanis said he thinks Kimpton saw the success of the Iron Horse Hotel, another boutique, and felt it could do well in Milwaukee, too.

"The downtown hotel numbers have been very positive, and that's what's bringing in this new development," Hanis said.

Goldfish on loan

Kimpton hotels typically offer pet-friendly accommodations and feature nightly wine hours. Some Kimptons provide loaner goldfish for customers during their stay.

"All the boutique hotels try to find a little quirk or niche or something that makes a statement," Hanis said.

Kimpton operates high-end hotels, including the Palomar chain.

A Kimpton Palomar hotel, with 175 rooms, was part of a project proposed by Dallas-based Gatehouse Capital Corp. for the Park East area, on the block where the Sydney Hih Building once stood. But Gatehouse in January 2009 dropped that project, which included 66 high-end condos, after the housing market collapsed and the recession took hold.

Kimpton has four hotels in Chicago: Hotel Allegro, Hotel Burnham, Hotel Palomar and Hotel Monaco. It also runs the Grand Hotel in Minneapolis. Kimpton operates 58 hotels and 67 restaurants, bars and lounges in 24 cities.

New hotels rising

The Kimpton would be the latest in a series of new hotels in downtown Milwaukee.

A 128-room Hilton Garden Inn opened last fall at the northwest corner of N. Broadway and E. Michigan St.

The 90-room Brew House Inn & Suites is to open in May at the former Pabst brewery complex, and the Marriott is opening this fall.

There are now 3,902 hotel rooms within one mile of the Delta Center convention facility.

___

(c)2013 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Visit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at www.jsonline.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services NYSE:MAR,



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