Site work has begun on the Aloft hotel in downtown Milwaukee.
Site work has begun on the Aloft hotel project northeast of Old World Third Street and West Juneau Avenue along the Milwaukee River in downtown Milwaukee.
"We’re clearing the site and doing some of the prep work," said Ed Carow, one of the partners of Milwaukee River Hotel LLC, which purchased the development rights for the project from the previous development group consisting of Rob Ruvin and David Florsheim.
"We have applications in to the city for footing and foundation permits," said Carow, who is also a managing member of Milwaukee-based Wave Development LLC. "Our hope is within the next couple of weeks that we are in earnest in the construction process."
Verona-based Horizon Construction Group Inc. is the general contractor for the project.
The five-story building, to be constructed along the Milwaukee River in the middle of the mostly vacant Park East corridor, will have a 160-room hotel and 3,500 square feet of retail space. Carow said the location near the Bradley Center, Manpower Inc.’s corporate headquarters and nearby restaurants will help the hotel.
"We think the location is great," Carow said. "(The hotel) will appeal to both business and leisure travelers."
Aloft is a brand of White Plains, N.Y.-based Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. Aloft hotels are also planned for Green Bay and Madison.
The construction project will take about a year, Carow said.
Carow declined to disclose the cost of the project. A spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA), which is assisting the project, said debt financing was provided by U.S. Bank. In addition to the U.S. Bank financing, the Wisconsin Community Development Legacy Fund, a partnership of WHEDA, Milwaukee-based Legacy Bancorp and Impact Seven Inc. has approved a $10 million allocation of new markets tax credits for the project.
The project also received a $750,000 brownfields grant from the state Department of Commerce and a $75,000 grant from the state Department of Natural Resources.
Also, the city of Milwaukee will provide up to $858,042 in tax incremental financing (TIF) funds for the project to pay for a portion of the cost to build a riverwalk segment, dockwall and public plaza on the property.
