The Milwaukee Common Council today gave final approval to plans for a $50 million hotel development in downtown Milwaukee’s Deer District, setting the stage for a potential construction start next summer.
Middleton-based North Central Group Hospitality (NCG), along with the Milwaukee Bucks, proposed a 156-room, seven-story Moxy Hotel at 430 W. State St., a high-profile parcel formerly part of the Bradley Center site.
The Common Council voted to approve two zoning and land use items related to the project.
NCG has said that with full approval, construction could start on the project in summer of 2026.
The approval came after a month of contentious meetings and approvals for the project.
Originally proposed at the end of last year, the project received support from the Milwaukee Plan Commission. In May, however, the Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee (ZND) delayed a vote on the hotel proposal, with some committee members arguing the proposal was not the “highest and best use” for the site and that the city should hold out for a larger hotel development.
That position, however, was disputed by the Milwaukee Bucks’ attorney, Bruce Block, who said that the city could not legally consider highest and best use in their reasoning, given that the only zoning requirements for the site currently are that any building must be between four and 20 stories tall. Further, a local hotel industry analyst said that Milwaukee’s hotel market is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and current market data doesn’t show demand for a larger hotel development, which is a position echoed by NCG leadership.
Following this — and meetings with the City Attorney’s office — ZND narrowly passed the proposal onto the Common Council.
The project’s district alderman, Robert Bauman, still voted against the proposal today. Bauman said the proposed hotel is underwhelming due to its small room size and lack of amenities like rooftop bar or full-service restaurant. Further, he said that, while the project is not directly receiving public financing, the broader Deer District development has been subsidized by the city, arguing the council should reject the proposal on that basis.
“There’s a huge public subsidy that’s embedded in Tax Incremental District 84 that makes our view of maximizing the benefit that this development can produce directly relevant to our job to superintend the built environment and work with the benefit of the health, safety and welfare of our citizens,” Bauman said.
Ultimately, Bauman cast the lone “no” vote, with Ald. Larresa Taylor abstaining.
