Developer plans to convert Loyalty Building into a hotel

Two of downtown Milwaukee’s most revered historic buildings, the 136-year-old Mackie Building at 225 E. Michigan St. and the 124-year-old Loyalty Building at 611 N. Broadway are under contract to be sold to Rosemont, Ill.-based First Hospitality Group Inc., which plans to convert the Loyalty Building into a hotel, according to sources. The Mackie Building would still be used for office space, but the Grain Exchange Room in the building would provide meeting and banquet space for the hotel in the Loyalty Building.
A representative for First Hospitality Group could not be reached for comment.
The buildings were purchased in 2006 by Los Angeles-based Stonewater Partners, which also acquired the adjacent historic Mitchell Building in the deal. David Stade of Stonewater Partners declined to comment for this story.
“We just don’t comment on our properties one way or the other,” he said.
The 6-story, 91,996-square-foot Loyalty Building features a huge atrium, with office space around it. The layout could make the building a fit for a hotel use. The building currently has a large amount of vacant office space. Its most notable tenant is Emory & Co. LLC. The building has an assessed value of $2.007 million, according to city records. It was originally the site of the corporate headquarters for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.
The 5-story, 45,975-square-foot Mackie Building is perhaps best known for the Grain Exchange Room, an ornately designed 9,200-square-foot banquet room that was originally used for grain commodity trading and was restored in 1983. The anchor tenant in the building is the law firm of Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP. The Daily Reporter construction newspaper also has its offices in the building. The building has an assessed value of $989,000, according to city records.
The two buildings were listed together for sale by Siegel-Gallagher with an asking price of $4.085 million.
Both of the buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places.
One reason the buildings have struggled to attract office tenants is a lack of available parking in the area, sources say. A hotel would require fewer parking spaces than an office building.