The Park East Hotel has a new name and a new interior look. Recently, the 159-room hotel at 916 E. State St. in downtown Milwaukee was renamed Comfort Inn and Suites Downtown Lakeshore. The hotel also recently completed an interior remodeling project that added new carpet in the rooms, hallways and the lobby, new furniture in the rooms, new wallpaper in the hallways and lobby and a new tile countertop for the front desk.
The name change will enable the hotel to tap into the reservation network for Silver Spring, Md.-based Choice Hotels International Inc.
Choice Hotels is the worldwide franchisor of Cambria Suites, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality Inn, Sleep Inn, Clarion, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn. Choice Hotels franchises more than 5,200 hotels with more than 425,000 rooms in more than 40 countries and territories.
“One year ago, when we decided to change our name, we noticed that the hotel needed a change and needed remodeling,” said Lisa Guibord, front office manager/sales for Comfort Inn and Suites Downtown Lakeshore. “Nowadays, independent hotels have a tough time surviving, and we also had a tough time, so we decided to go with a chain to help our hotel and help bring in more revenue. We wanted to bring the best customer service with the help of training programs that the chain hotel offers. We hope to be successful in this big change and are looking forward to the future.”
The owners of the hotel, Ajit “Jay” and Harjeet “Rick” Walia, could not be reached for comment. The Walia brothers purchased the Park East Hotel in 2003. Since then, they added Aqua restaurant and lounge to the hotel.
The five-story, 92,000-square-foot hotel building was constructed in 1957. It has an assessed value of $6 million, according to city records. According to Choice Hotels’ Web page, room rates at Comfort Inn and Suites Downtown Lakeshore range from $100 to $500, depending on the date and the size of the room.
Brookfield
Mike Stoner and Daniel “Duffy” O’Neil, the owners of North Star American Bistro, 4515 N. Oakland Ave., Shorewood, plan to open a second location in a 6,000-square-foot building in the Sendik’s Towne Centre, located west of Brookfield Road and south of Capitol Drive. The new restaurant will open in early August, Stoner said. Stoner and O’Neil plan to have four restaurants open in southeastern Wisconsin by 2014. They have looked throughout the region for potential locations, Stoner said. “This is very much a neighborhood restaurant,” he said. “I think it is more suited to a neighborhood where people can walk up and walk in and know half of the people in it.” Stoner and O’Neil have also looked at downtown Milwaukee, but the recent influx of new restaurants there has given them pause. They may eventually open a restaurant with a different concept downtown, Stoner said.
Sendik’s Towne Centre is a 200,000-square-foot retail development that Brookfield-based Thomson Corp. has been developing since 2001. Thomson also plans to build an additional 6,680-square-foot building for a white table cloth restaurant, but the company has declined to disclose who the tenant will be.
Milwaukee
The City of Milwaukee has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a 24,500-square-foot vacant lot at the northeast corner of South Muskego Avenue and West Mitchell Street on the city’s south side. The triangular-shaped property has 200 feet of frontage on Muskego Avenue and 300 feet of frontage on Mitchell Street. The city’s asking price for the property is $110,250. Buyers must make a commitment to develop the property in accordance with the city’s design guidelines.
Glendale
Columbus-based Steiner & Associates, which is redeveloping Bayshore Mall, announced recently that Devon Seafood Grill will have a location at the mall. The restaurant will have about 100 to 150 employees. It is an upscale casual seafood restaurant, with an average lunch bill of $15 to $20 and an average dinner bill of about $40. Devon Seafood Grill is operated by Houlian’s Restaurant Inc., and has seven other locations nationwide in Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis, Philadelphia and Atlanta. Steiner & Assoc. is transforming Bayshore from a mall with 500,000 square feet of retail space into a town center with 1.2 million square feet of retail space, 180,000 square feet of office space, 50,000 square feet of entertainment space and 200 condominiums and apartments. The project cost is $300 million. Other restaurants that will be part of the redeveloped Bayshore Town Center will be Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen and Cameron’s Steakhouse.
West Allis
Wilde Toyota, 3225 S. 108th St., plans to demolish its 4,102-square-foot budget/used car sales building and construct a new 5,016-square-foot budget/ used car building. To do the expansion project, Wilde Toyota acquired the former Crawford Animal Hospital property at 3193 S. 108th St. and an outlot from Gordie Boucher, 3161 S. 108th St.
The Citgo gas station at 6819 W. Lincoln Ave. is planning a remodeling project that will expand its convenience store and create space for a fast food restaurant tenant. The convenience store expansion and the fast food restaurant space will be built in a space formerly used for auto repair work.
EZ Money Payday Loan Services plans to open a location in a 1,450-square-foot space at 11000-10 W. National Ave. EZ Money would occupy space in a building with Sherwin Williams.
Sheboygan
LJM Architects Inc. is building a 2,850-square-foot retail building in the South Pier District, which is a redeveloped peninsula between Lake Michigan and the Sheboygan River. The peninsula has attracted the Blue Harbor Resort and Conference Center, Triple Play Funzone and some small retail shops. The LJM building will be similar to the fishing shanty retail buildings on the other side of the river. A pastry shop and restaurant called The Islander Café and a flower shop called McGinley and Baker will occupy the building. The building will be complete in September. “(The South Pier District) is picking up,” said Erik Jensen, president and owner of LJM. “These tenants pretty much sought me out. The last building I built (in the South Pier District), I had to scratch around to find tenants.” Last year LJM built a 4,500-square-foot retail building in the district. The building is now fully leased with a women’s clothing and accessories store, a gift shop and a tanning salon.
Shirley Wright, a Sheboygan resident, plans to open a carry-out restaurant called Big Mama’s Barbeque at 1937 S. Business Dr. The 832-square-foot building has been vacant for several years.
Franklin
Outlook Development LLC plans to build a 14,400-square-foot, multi-tenant retail building on a 1.44-acre property at 2810 W. Rawson Ave. The property is currently used by Jim K’s Landscaping and Maintenance.
Whitefish Bay
Johnson Bank plans to open a branch in the first floor of a four-story building at 5600 N. Lake Shore Drive that is being developed by Milwaukee-based Boulder Venture. The building will also have 13 residential condominiums. Racine-based Johnson Bank has more than 50 locations in Wisconsin and Arizona and about $4 billion in assets.
Menomonee Falls
West Allis-based Maritime Savings Bank plans to open a branch at N72 W13435 Jacob Lane in Menomonee Falls. The bank’s other locations are in West Allis, Brookfield, Cudahy, Milwaukee, Muskego, Oak Creek and Wind Lake. The bank has about $315 million in assets.
McDonald’s rebuilding
Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald’s has grand plans to tear down its older locations and replace them with newer buildings with a more contemporary appearance. So far the company has announced plans to tear down and rebuild the McDonald’s restaurant at 8056 Sheridan Road in Kenosha, 9471 S. 13th St. in Oak Creek and at 300 N. Moorland Road in Brookfield.
Andrew Weiland is the managing editor of Small Business Times. Send news about commercial real estate to Andrew.weiland@biztimes.com or by calling him at (414) 277-8181 ext. 120. News can also be sent to Andrew Weiland, Small Business Times, 1123 N. Water St., Milwaukee, WI 53202.
Leases
Dickman Company
American Home Inspectors Training Institute leased 5,711 square feet of office space at Squires III, N19 W24075 Riverwood Dr., Pewaukee, from M-P Group LLC.
Grubb & Ellis|Boerke Company
Insurance Overload Systems leased 1,429 square feet of space at 125 Executive Dr., Brookfield, from Principal Capital Management.
NAI MLG Commercial
UniFirst Corp. leased 8,212 square feet of industrial space at N83 W13220-80 Leon Road, Menomonee Falls, from Nicolet Investment Co.
American Family leased 1,250 square feet of office space at 131 W. Layton Ave., Milwaukee, from Ripp Realty Corp.
Ogden & Company Inc.
StorX leased 97,213 square feet of space in the New Berlin Industrial Park at 16705 W. Lincoln Ave., New Berlin, from Lincoln New Berlin Property LLC.
Polacheck Company
Milwaukee PC leased 2,834 square feet of space at 7115 Durand Ave., Mt. Pleasant, from VJS Development Group LLC.
JuJu Gifts, Accessories & Décor leased 1,497 square feet of space and The Home Market leased 2,342 square feet of space at 222 E. Erie St., Milwaukee, from Fulton Property Master Tenant LLC.
On Assignment Inc. leased 3,368 square feet of space at 6737 W. Washington St. #3470, West Allis, from Whitnall Summit Company Inc.
Milwaukee Paper Co. leased 10,432 square feet of space at 2600-56 S. 162nd St., New Berlin, from Wisconsin Development Corp.
Sales
Apex Commercial
AK65 LLC purchased Goldenview, a 30-bed community based residential facility at 700 Pilgrim Parkway, Elm Grove.
Grubb & Ellis|Boerke Company
35th Street Holdings LLC purchased 265,000 square feet of industrial space at 5023 N. 35th St., Milwaukee, from North Milwaukee Industrial Center LLC.
MZA Family Limited Partnership purchased 25,086 square feet of industrial space at 825 W. Cleveland.
Polacheck
North 67th St. LLC purchased 3.28 acres at 7701-15 N. 67th St., Milwaukee, from 67th Street Investments LLC a.k.a. Michael Bowles.
Spectrum Rolling LLC purchased 16 acres at Highway 11 and Rolling Hills, Racine, from Robert and Cheyenne Buss.
Oak Creek Oasis LLC purchased 2.2 acres at 9510 S. 27th St., Oak Creek, from Randon Corp.
New construction
Steigerwald Construction Inc., Milwaukee, was selected by Heat Treating Engineers Inc. to design and build a 4,000-square-foot addition to their Milwaukee facility. Steigerwald was also selected to design and build a 5,000-square-foot warehouse for Atlas Metal Parts in Waukesha. In addition, Steigerwald was awarded a contract by Brady Corp., Milwaukee, to renovate its mezzanine offices. Recently, Steigerwald completed office renovations at the Max Weiss Company in Milwaukee.
Briohn Building Corp., Brookfield, was selected to build a 7,840-square-foot jewelry store for Gold Creations at 16150 W. Bluemound Road, Brookfield. Briohn has also been contracted to design and build a 5,000-square-foot addition for Ed Bristol Advertising at 6150 W. Donges Bay Road, Mequon.
Creative Constructors LLC, Menomonee Falls, was awarded the contract to build a $1.2 million, 10,000-square-foot multipurpose building on the Southern Oaks Girls School campus in Union Grove. Creative Constructors also recently completed construction of a 1,650-square-foot Starbucks café at 4170 N. Oakland Ave., Shorewood.
Bukacek Construction, Racine, was awarded the contract to build the 50,000-square-foot Whole Foods store at Prospect and North avenues in Milwaukee.
Gilbane Building Company, Milwaukee was selected as the construction manager for the new, 280,000-square-foot corporate headquarters for Manpower in downtown Milwaukee.
Suburban Construction Inc., Richfield, recently completed the renovation of the Office Annex Building at U-Line Corporation, 8900 N. 55th St., Brown Deer. The 10,000-square-foot interior of the facility was demolished and re-built to house the company’s relocated customer service department. Suburban Construction also recently completed construction of a 7,200-square-foot addition to Philipp Lithographing Company, 1960 Wisconsin Ave., Grafton. Suburban Construction was also rewarded the contract to provide construction management services for building a 6,750-square-foot addition to Hydra-Seal Inc., Menomonee Falls. Suburban Construction has also been awared the subcontract to furnish and erect the custom pre-finished steel insulated sandwich wall panels for the new Bucyrus facility in South Milwaukee.
MSI General Corp., Oconomowoc, was selected to design and build a 4,800-square-foot addition for Adair Sewer and Water at 9530 N. 107th St., Milwaukee.
