The announcement that yet another developer wants to build a mixed-use development with a hotel in the Park East corridor is being welcomed by the developer planning two mixed-use developments with hotels across the street.
Recently the developer for The Moderne LLC announced plans to build a $73 million, 30-story building at the southwest corner of Old World Third Street and Juneau Avenue with a 120-room Element hotel, 14 floors of condos, a fitness center, a full service restaurant, a classic lounge and bar and a day spa.
Instead of seeing the development as a competitor, the Moderne project is being welcomed with open arms by Rob Ruvin, the owner of Mequon-based Ruvin Development Inc., which is partnering with Dallas-based Gatehouse Capital Corp. on a pair of developments northwest and northeast of the Old World Third Street and Juneau Avenue intersection.
“The Moderne is an interesting proposal,” Ruvin said. “It will compliment our development. We want to make sure we support development in the Park East. We don’t want to be on an island. It certainly seems like there is amazing potential in the Park East, and we want to tap that potential.”
Ruvin and Gatehouse plan to build a 10-story building at the northeast corner of the intersection with a 128-room Aloft hotel, 75,000 square feet of office space, 13 condominiums and 2,000 square feet of retail space. Cramer-Krasselt plans to move its Milwaukee office from 733 N. Van Buren St. to the building and will occupy about 50,000 square feet of the office space.
At the northwest corner of the intersection, Ruvin and Gatehouse plan to build a 180-room hotel operated by San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels, 70 condominiums, 30,000 square feet of retail space and 50,000 square feet of office space.
The three hotels could co-exist at the intersection, because each would serve a different segment of the market, Ruvin said.
Element is an extended stay hotel brand of White Plains, N.Y.-based Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and would compete with hotels like the Residence Inn by Marriott, Ruvin said.
Aloft is also a brand of Starwood. Aloft is a select service hotel, which means it is basically a luxury hotel with less amenities, Ruvin said. It would compete with hotels like the Courtyard by Marriott, he said.
The hotel operated by Kimpton Hotels will be a full-service luxury hotel that would compete with the InterContinental Hotel, Hotel Metro and the Pfister Hotel, Ruvin said.
“Typically, these three (types of hotels) work well together,” Ruvin said.
The Cramer-Krasselt/Aloft building is expected to break ground between Aug. 15 and Sept. 1 and will not require any tax incremental financing (TIF) assistance from the city, Ruvin said.
“We have an aggressive schedule to get (Cramer-Krasselt) in before the end of ‘08,” he said.
But Ruvin and Gatehouse are seeking some city assistance for the development at the northwest corner of the intersection, which would include the redevelopment of the former Sydney Hih building.
“It is very hard to build a luxury (hotel) product in this market,” Ruvin said. “What (city assistance) we’re looking for is really for the parking component.”
That assistance may include some TIF, but Ruvin declined to say how much he is seeking. City officials have been reluctant to provide TIF for projects in the Park East corridor that would compete with other retailers and hotels already downtown.
However, Ruvin said his development for the Sydney Hih block deserves TIF consideration, in part because the property has sewer easements which make about one-fourth of the block un-developable.
“It’s a very difficult site,” he said.
Ruvin said his negotiations with city officials include the possibility that the city will provide some spaces in city-owned parking structures for the development. That could reduce the amount of TIF needed for the development, he said.
“We’re in negotiations trying to figure out some different scenarios,” he said.
Ruvin said he plans to break ground on the development for the Sydney Hih lot by the end of the year. In what he called the “unlikely event” that he and city officials do not reach an agreement on parking assistance, “we would probably look at a different development for the site.”
Menard plans Grafton store
Another large retail development is being planned for the Highway 60 and I-43 interchange in Grafton.
Eau Claire-based Menard Inc. plans to build a store on an 18 acre site south of the Home Depot store and east of Port Washington Road. The store would be southwest of the Highway 60 and I-43 interchange, which has attracted several large stores in recent years including the Home Depot store, Target, Office Depot, Colder’s and Baymont Inn & Suites. Menomonee Falls-based Continential Properties Company Inc. is building a 388,000-square-foot retail development northwest of Highway 60 and I-43, which will include a 151,000-square-foot Costco store and a 90,000-square-foot Kohl’s store.
The plans for the Grafton Menard’s include a 162,340-square-foot store with 40,608 square feet of adjacent outdoor space and a 26,420-square-foot accessory warehouse. In addition to the home improvement items that a typical Menard’s store carries, this store would also have a grocery area.
Menard has been adding a grocery department to some of its stores lately, including some stores in the Milwaukee area. The company has more that 210 stores in the Midwest.
The Grafton Menard’s development would also include three outlots along Port Washington Road for additional retail stores.
Water Street getting new bars
The downtown Milwaukee Water Street bar strip will be getting three new establishments soon.
Dianna Freckmann plans to open Tequila Rita’s in the former Terrace Bar space at 1131 N. Water St.
Adam Kirchner plans to open The Bassment in the basement of the building at 1125 N. Water St., in the basement of the Buffalo Wild Wings building, also known as the Design Center. The Bassment will feature several virtual bowling machines.
The Guitar Bar at 1139 N. Water St. closed recently after almost four years at the location. The bar’s owner, Donnis Briesath, said she sold the business to Brian Normoyle, who plans to open a bar there called Grant’s Pub.
Another major change is coming to the other side of the street where Fort Myers, Fla.-based Development Opportunity Corp. is building a 14-story building at the southeast corner of North Water Street and Juneau Avenue, which will include a 121-room Staybridge Suites hotel, 31 condominiums and 14,000 square feet of retail space, which could include a restaurant.
Briesath said she wants to focus on another downtown business. She recently closed Connie’s Popcorn at 324 E. Wisconsin Ave. and plans to open a new restaurant there soon called Beef It Up, which will feature sandwiches, sausages, hot dogs and Italian beef.
St. Francis
Stark Investments continues to grow and needs more space. The company plans to build a 7,000-square-foot addition to the east side of its 63,000-square-foot office building along Lake Michigan at 3600 S. Lake Drive. “Business at Stark Investments is very strong,” said chief administration officer Bob DiDonato. The expansion will increase the size of Stark’s trading floor, he said. Stark, a hedge fund operator, bought the building in 2002 from Joy Global Inc. The building was constructed as the headquarters for Harnishfeger Industries. Harnishfeger reorganized under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, changed its name to Joy Global Inc. and sold the building to Stark. Since then, Stark has grown and is running out of room in its St. Francis headquarters. Last year, the company began leasing space in the 1000 N. Water St. in downtown Milwaukee and now has about 22,000 square feet of office space and about 65 employees in that building.
Oak Creek
Pewaukee-based Ott Development plans to build two, two-story, 24,000-square-foot office buildings on a vacant three acre site at 7365 S. Howell Ave. Dr. Jeffrey Adamczak, a psychologist, plans to occupy the entire 12,000-square-foot first floor of one of the buildings.
West Allis
Greenfield-based Pyramax Bank plans to build a 4,000-square-foot branch on a half-acre lot in the 8000 block of West National Avenue. The property was formerly used as a parking lot for Neis Harware Co. Pyramax Bank has about $480 million in assets and has seven locations in Milwaukee, Franklin, Greenfield, Waukesha, Mukwonago and South Milwaukee.
Transactions
Leases
Apex Commercial
Edward Jones & Company leased 1,256 square feet of retail space at 200 W. Summit Ave., Wales, from Kettle Moraine Plaza.
Sara, Eilman & Tesch leased 1,620 square feet of office space at 933 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa, from 933 N. Mayfair Road Limited Partnership.
JL Kirk Associates of Tennessee Inc. leased 1,790 square feet of office space at 18000 W. Sarah Lane, Brookfield, from CORE Realty Holdings Management Inc.
Jenkins & Associates leased 1,513 square feet of office space at 1110 N. Old World Third St., Milwaukee, from Riverfront Plaza Joint Venture.
Boerke Company
Bon-Ton Stores Inc. leased 42,000 square feet of office space in Reuss Federal Plaza at 310 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, from Federal Plaza Associates.
Love Jewelry LLC leased 4,000 square feet of office space in the former Robert Haack Jewelry building at 7530 W. Layton Ave., Greenfield, from Kathleen M. Morrow.
CB Richard Ellis
Brown and Jones Reporting Inc. leased 2,609 square feet of office space and McWilliams Burgener Architects S.C. leased 1,000 square feet of office space at 735 N. Water St., Milwaukee, from Compass Properties North Water Street LLC.
TamaLou LLC d.b.a. Camille’s Sidewalk Café leased 3,056 square feet of retail space at the northwest corner of Good Hope Road and Appleton Avenue in Menomonee Falls from The Woodlands at North Hills LLC.
Family Service Agency of Waukesha Inc. leased 5,383 square feet of office space at
101 W. Broadway, Waukesha, from JPMorgan Chase Bank National Association.
Siegel-Gallagher
Daily Reporter leased 7,136 square feet of office space in the Mackie Building at 225 E. Michigan St., Milwaukee, from Stonewater Historic Milwaukee LLC.
MacGillis & Company leased 1,329 square feet of office space at Mayfair Crossing, 1233 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa, from Kennedy Associates Real Estate Counsel.
Sales
Apex Commercial
Wisconsin Commercial LLC purchased 108,000 square feet of industrial space at 9720-50 S. Oakwood Park Dr., Franklin, from SFP Group LLC for $4,462,500.
Dickman Company
RB Fratney LLC purchased 21,380 square feet of industrial space at 3700 N. Fratney St., Milwaukee, from Fratney Associates LLC.
Boerke Company
Weather Tight Property Management Group LLC purchased 2.57 acres at 11503 W. National Ave., West Allis, from 333 North Plankinton Building Partnership.
Ogden & Company
1681 N. Prospect Ave. LLC purchased the Adler House Mansion at 1681 N. Prospect Ave., Milwaukee, from Town Bank for $680,000.
LLJ Properites LLC purchased four residential units and 7,500 square feet of industrial space at 384-90 E. Bay St., Milwaukee, from James and Anita Sokolowski.
Siegel-Gallagher
Mandel Group Inc. recently purchased the 332 unit Plum Tree Apartments at 10459 W. College Ave. in Hales Corners, the 206 unit Ravinia Apartments at 4280 S. Ravinia Dr. in Greenfield and the 148 unit The Woodlands of Brookfield apartments at 790 Lakeview Dr., Brookfield, from Chicago-based Equity Residential Properties.
CB Richard Ellis
Aldi Inc. purchased 2.02 acres at the southwest corner of Commerce Street and Highway 67 in Oconomowoc from DETAJ LLC.
New construction
Jim Pankow Inc., Plymouth, was awarded a contract to design and build a 4,305-sqaure-foot build-out for
a new entrance of Nemschoff Chairs’ main facility on Julson Court in Sheboygan.
VJS Construction Services, Pewaukee, is the general contractor for the construction of St. Jerome Catholic Church, a 33,323-square-foot church under construction in Oconomooc.
Keller Inc. was hired to design and build the 4,000-square-foot dental office for Dr. Craig Thomas at the north end of Elkhorn on Fairway Lane.
Briohn Building Corp., Brookfield, was contracted to build One Mayfair Place, three buildings with 49,715 square feet of retail and office space at 2717 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa. Briohn has also been contracted to design and renovate a 38,880-square-foot, two-story building, and to build a 6,400-square-foot addition, for Capitol Crossing LLC at 225 W. Capitol Dr., Milwaukee.
