A developer has purchased 3 acres near the corner of Lincoln Avenue and 102nd Street in West Allis where it plans to construct a new 107-room Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel.
According to state records, Lincoln Development Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Milwaukee-based Catalyst Partners, purchased the property at 10201 W. Lincoln Ave. for $1.2 million. The site currently has a roughly 60,000-square-foot office building, which was constructed in 1969.
Development plans for the hotel were submitted earlier this year by Lincoln Hospitality Group LLC, another affiliate of Catalyst that is overseeing the development project.
The plans call for the hotel to be four stories tall and total about 60,000 square feet. The office building on the site, known as the Wehr Building, would be demolished to make way for the hotel. An additional 15,000- to 20,000-square-foot building could eventually be built on the site.
John Ford, a partner with Catalyst Partners, said his group is looking to begin construction in September and have the hotel open by July 2020, the same month the city of Milwaukee is hosting the Democratic National Convention.
“We are currently working with the City of West Allis through final preparations and approvals,” Ford said in an email.
He later added, “We are working with remaining tenants within the existing Wehr Building to relocate them to alternative office space. Demolition of the existing building is (to be determined),” though it would likely happen in the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2020.
The project might receive a $1.45 million developer incentive from West Allis through the creation of a new tax incremental financing district. This public assistance would help close a gap in financing on the project, according to the city.
A proposal to create the new tax financing district was endorsed early last month by the city’s Community Development Authority. Patrick Schloss, West Allis community development manager, said the Common Council will consider the proposal when it meets on Tuesday. The Joint Review Board would next take a vote on the matter on Aug. 13.
Schloss added that city officials will also have to approve a development agreement with the developer. Staffers are still working on the language of that agreement.
“Lincoln Hospitality Group LLC is excited about this opportunity to make a significant investment in this area and the City of West Allis,” Ford wrote.
