Coralville, Iowa-based Hawkeye Hotels is moving forward with plans to open two hotels at The Corridor development along I-94 in Brookfield.
The hotels, a Holiday Inn Express & Suites and a Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott will be located in the middle of the 66-acre development, just south of the new 55,000-square-foot ProHealth Medical Group clinic that is currently under construction.
The hotels will have 132 and 137 rooms and share a parking lot.
“We are thrilled to take this step forward on two hotels that will serve as economic drivers for Brookfield,” said Ravi Patel, president of Hawkeye Hotels. “Hawkeye Hotels is glad to be able to step in to help execute development and facilitate growth the way the city envisioned.”
The Brookfield Plan Commission will review the design plans and development agreement during tonight’s meeting.
“The design exceeds what I understand is the typical prototype for a Fairfield Inn and Holiday Inn Express architecture,” said Dan Ertl, Brookfield’s director of community development. “Hawkeye really stepped up to the plate to meet the city’s and Deer Creek’s expectations.”
Hawkeye Hotels is planning to purchase 5 acres in The Corridor development from Deer Creek LLC, an affiliate of Milwaukee-based development firm Irgens, to build the hotels.
The location of the hotels is where the city of Brookfield originally wanted to build its new hotel and conference center. The city ultimately decided to walk away from the Corridor site when it became clear a parking structure would be needed to accommodate guests, making the project too costly.
The city has since chosen to develop a conference center and adjacent hotel at a 9-acre site in the Brookfield Square Mall parking lot. The city issued a request for proposal, which closed in mid-June to secure a hotel partner to build the 175-room hotel at the Sears Auto Center site.
Ertl said “several” proposals were received and the city has interviewed interested parties.
A development partner will likely be chosen next month, Ertl said. Once a partner is chosen, the city will have to secure the land from CBL, the owner of Brookfield Square, complete its due diligence of the land, which includes environmental and traffic studies, and determine if the project can be completed within budget, he said.
Ertl would not comment on the total budget cost. Early projects were $9 million to $12 million, which will be paid for with the city’s hotel room tax.
