Although the construction project began in April, a groundbreaking ceremony will be held today for a three-story, 82-room Sleep Inn & Suites hotel, which is being built on a vacant lot at 4600 S. Sixth St. The hotel is expected to open in early 2009. About 25 people will work there.
The site is about 1.5 miles from the west entrance to General Mitchell International Airport, and about half a mile from Interstate 94. Several new hotel developments have been proposed for sites near the airport in recent months. This is the first of those projects to break ground.
Some of the units in the hotel will be suites with separate sleeping and living room areas with refrigerators and microwaves. The hotel will also have a meeting room for groups of up to 35, high speed wireless internet access, an indoor swimming pool, a whirlpool a fitness center and breakfast service. In addition, the hotel will have additional parking available for guest to use "park and fly" overnight packages.
Sleep Inn is a division of Silver Spring, Md.-based Choice Hotels International Inc. The hotel is being developed by West Bend-based American Design-Build and North Liberty, Iowa-based Kinseth Hospitality Companies. "We believe the hotel will be very successful given the continued growth in the commercial and industrial businesses located in the southern sector of Milwaukee," said Kraig Sadownikow, president of American Design-Build.
American Design-Build and Kinseth, a hospitality management company and ownership organization, recently opened a Hampton Inn & Suites hotel in West Bend and are working on hotel developments in Grafton and Madison.
