The 1927 Hilton Milwaukee, 509 W. Wisconsin Ave., is getting a big makeover and a smaller footprint.
The $40 million renovation of Milwaukee’s largest hotel – due for completion next summer – is the biggest such project for the Milwaukee-based Marcus Hotels & Resorts and will include the beautiful lobby and 34,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
The plan also calls for renovating the 554 guest rooms in the original building. However, the 175 rooms located in the 12-story west tower, built in 2000 to designs by Kahler Slater, “will eventually be removed from available room inventory,” the Marcus Hotels’ statement said.
“The decision not to renovate all guest rooms was the result of careful evaluation of current hotel market conditions, projected room supply and demand, and the risks associated with proposed new hotel room supply that will require significant public subsidy. While the original intention was to renovate and operate all 729 rooms, the smaller renovated footprint is more aligned with the company’s investment criteria when factoring in these challenging dynamics.”
The Paradise Landing indoor waterpark in that addition closed more than a decade ago.
Marcus Corp. CEO Greg Marcus told the Business Journal that the goal is to sell the west tower for non-hotel purposes. Marcus cited a number of struggling Downtown hotels and "an unlevel playing field" created by a "big, subsidized competitor right around the corner" – referring to talk of a new large convention center hotel – as impetus for the shuttering of the rooms.
Currently, there is neither an official plan, nor a location, announced for such a hotel.
The Hilton will still be the largest Milwaukee hotel, with the 500-room Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in second place, according to data from Visit Milwaukee.
The 1927 hotel was designed by Chicago’s renowned Holabird & Roche for Wisconsin hotelier Walter Schroeder. You can read a more in-depth look at the hotel and its history in this Urban Spelunking story.
The former Schroeder Hotel and Marc Plaza Hotel was most recently known as the Hilton Milwaukee City Center and has been officially renamed the Hilton Milwaukee as part of this update.
The Hilton has been a member of Historic Hotels of America since 2011.
“The Hilton Milwaukee has been a towering mainstay in Milwaukee since 1928 and we are thrilled to usher in a new modern era that honors the hotel’s long tradition of style and elegance,” said Michael Evans, president of Marcus Hotels & Resorts.
“While taking great care to celebrate its distinguished past, this remodel will dramatically elevate the look, feel and experience of this stately city landmark into a brand-new hotel. As the largest hotel in Milwaukee, we look forward to welcoming locals, leisure travelers and group and convention guests alike as they experience and enjoy everything about our hometown, including the expanded Baird Center right across the street.”
As part of the work, the guest rooms will get new furnishings, lighting, carpet, draperies and artwork, completely remodeled bathrooms, motion sensor lighting, Nespresso machines, updated HVAC and more.
The hotel’s corridors will get new wallcoverings, light woodwork, carpeting and lighting.
The hotel’s copious events spaces will have their historic chandeliers, mirrors and other features refurbished. There will also be new carpeting, draperies and wall coverings, plus updated sound, lighting and HVAC.
Marcus Hotels recently completed a $20 million renovation of its historic The Pfister Hotel on East Wisconsin Avenue.
The towering antenna atop the hotel is also expected to be removed, though a specific timelines has not been announced.
(NOTE: This post was updated on Dec. 16.)
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
