When it opens in early 2023, the Deer District’s new boutique hotel will bear the name, The Trade Milwaukee, as a nod to the city’s history.
The Milwaukee Bucks and Madison-based North Central Group on Wednesday announced the moniker and conceptual details of the nine-story Marriott International Autograph Collection hotel, which will be built directly north of Fiserv Forum at the corner of Juneau and Vel R. Phillips avenues in downtown Milwaukee.
The project, which was first announced last September, is expected to break ground this fall.
“Milwaukee was founded by traders, but Milwaukee was also built by the hard working and gentle hands of our tradesmen and tradeswomen,” said Andy Inman, vice president of development at NCG, during a press conference. “We looked inward, into the city of Milwaukee, really to celebrate the fabric of this great city and to honor the tradesmen and tradeswomen who built it.”
The Trade will feature 205 tech-enabled guest rooms and suites, complete with mobile check-in and check-out, keyless entry, motion sensor lighting, smart TVs and free wifi. Suites will have high ceilings, California king beds, and a private elevator and hotel entrance. The two-story VIP suite will have its own private access.
The hotel will include more than 9,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space and two restaurants: a signature concept on the southeast corner of the first floor and a rooftop restaurant and lounge, with views of the city. Retail space will be located at the southwest corner of the first floor.
The Autograph Collection’s independently owned hotels are known for their upscale accommodations and designs, often customized for the surrounding locale.
“We are ecstatic to partner with NCG in bringing a groundbreaking hotel to Deer District,” said Michael Belot, senior vice president of Bucks ventures and development. “The Trade Milwaukee will continue to build on the promise of Deer District becoming Milwaukee’s place to ‘Work, Live and Play’ while offering best in class accommodations, food and beverage.”
In addition to the new hotel, the Bucks are planning to develop a building with 250,000 square feet of commercial space on the same block, as well as a few hundred residential units on the vacant lot next door, northwest of West Juneau Avenue and North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
The team has said the Marriott hotel would be the first of two hotel properties they’d like to develop in the Deer District. The other would likely take over a portion of the former Bradley Center site, south of Fiserv Forum.
