Check in early and stay late during OnMilwaukee's "Hotel Week" sponsored by VISIT Milwaukee. The next seven days will be packed with stories about historic area hotels, reviews, history, food and drink, staycations and more. Find out what it's like to be a tourist in this town. (Chocolate on your pillow not included.)
Downtown Milwaukee and the neighborhoods around it are on the move.
Cranes nearly every where are signs of development, building and growth. New residents, new offices, new towers and, of course, new hotels.
While I love many of our Milwaukee mainstays, especially The Pfister Hotel, Iron Horse Hotel and the Intercontinental, I welcome the new comers and am really looking forward to all that they will offer visitors and locals.
Here’s a short list of what’s up next in the greater Downtown Milwaukee hotel world. Which ones are you most looking forward to?
Kimpton Hotel
Broadway and Chicago Street
Opening mid-2016
By mid-next year, 158 more rooms will be added to the Downtown neighborhood, with the opening of a new Kimpton Hotel at the northeast corner of Broadway and Chicago Street in the Historic Third Ward. Rooftop deck and rumors of a celebrity chef should make this a popular destination.
Homewood Suites
500 N. Water St.
Late 2016 or early 2017
This is the conversation by Kenosha-based Bear Development of the "Joey Buona's building" (Button Building) into a 94-room extended stay hotel. Great location, right next to the Milwaukee Public Market.
Choice Hotels International
Plankinton Avenue and Clybourn Street
Opening TBD
A Chicago developer plans to build a 110-150 room hotel on the block northwest of Plankinton Avenue and Clybourn Street. Clark Street Real Estate has owned this site since 2008. Clark Street plans to partner with Choice Hotels International, Inc. – which owns several hotel brands including Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites and Clarion – on the project, according to BizTimes.
Westin Hotel
Near new 833 East office building, Cass and Michigan Streets
Opening TBD
A 200-room Westin Hotel is on the books just west of the new 17-story 833 East office building.
SpringHill Suites
Corner of 4th and Wells Streets, across from Wisconsin Center
Opening mid-2016
A 155-suite SpringHill Suites is under construction at the corner of Fourth and Wells Streets. It's directly across from the Wisconsin Center.
Add the planned micro hotel in the Bay View neighborhood, another one next to the Avalon Theater and maybe even another big hotel in the Valley and the Downtown area's really full of new places to stay.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
