NATIONAL REPORT—Hospitality developments are underway across the country. The Milwaukee market for hotel development is red hot, Indiana is getting a boutique property and the South is seeing some action. Here’s a closer look:
Trio of Hotels Break Ground in Milwaukee
Iowa-based Hawkeye Hotels and Minnesota-based JR Hospitality broke ground on three new hotels within one block of downtown Milwaukee. These are the first Milwaukee properties for Hawkeye Hotels. Together, the companies are constructing two buildings that will house three hotels. One building will contain both the Home2 Suites (115 guestrooms) and Tru by Hilton (100 guestrooms), while the other is a Holiday Inn Express (116 guestrooms). Each of these brands is a first for downtown Milwaukee. Amenities at the Home2 Suites and Tru by Hilton include a shared fitness center and indoor pool. The Holiday Inn Express will include a fitness center open 24/7 and a business center.
Cambria Hotel Milwaukee Downtown to Open This Summer
Cambria Hotel Milwaukee Downtown will officially open its doors this August. Chicago development company Murphy Development Group (MDG) built the property, which will be managed by Concord Hospitality; Murphy Asset Management (MAM), a subsidiary of MDG, will act as the asset manager. The hotel is close to the Historic Third Ward, shores of Lake Michigan, Walker’s Point and the RiverWalk District. In addition to its 132 guestrooms and suites, all curated by Stan Ramaker of the Fond du Lac-based M+A Design, the property will have 1,300 sq. ft. of meeting space, indoor pool, fitness center and food and beverage options.
Provenance Hotels Breaks Ground on Boutique Property in Fort Wayne, IN
Local entrepreneur Barbara Bradley Baekgaard along with Provenance Hotels broke ground on a 124-room boutique hotel in downtown Fort Wayne, IN. The hotel will complement Fort Wayne’s adjacent Riverfront Development, phase one of which opens in August, and The Landing, a boutique shopping, dining and residential development that is also opening this summer. The hotel will have a marquee ground-floor food and beverage operation, rooftop bar and meeting space, as well as leasable ground floor retail space. Baekgaard will work with the Provenance Hotels team and Dutch East Interiors, the New York-based firm that has been retained to design the interiors. Provenance Hotels will manage the hotel when construction is complete in late 2020.
Mixed-Use Development Underway in Southlake, TX
RREAF Holdings LLC broke ground on Phase I of a 16-acre mixed-use development in Southlake, TX, anchored by a full-service, upscale flagship-brand hotel that will have 239 guestrooms and suites. Completion of the six-story luxury hotel phase is scheduled for fall 2020. Merriman Anderson Architects worked with Cole Engineering to design the site and development. Hill & Wilkinson has been engaged as the general contractor; Carl Schwab and Bob McGrane, RREAF project manager, will oversee project development for RREAF Southlake Property Co. LLC. BancorpSouth Bank is providing first lien construction loan financing for the development through RREAF’s Capital Markets Group, Staghorn Capital Partners; Mosaic Real Estate Investors is providing mezzanine debt; and RREAF and RREAF Investors have provided the equity to round out the capital stack.
RLH Corp. to Develop Hotel in Fort Valley, GA
RLH Corporation has signed a franchise license agreement for a new-build, 110-room Red Lion Hotel and Conference Center in Fort Valley, GA. Fort Valley is home to Fort Valley State University, a public historically black university (HBCU) and headquarters for the Blue Bird Bus Company. The hotel will have a pool, exercise room, plaques and tributes to local civil rights/civic leaders and a business center. The development surrounding the hotel will also have a conference center, six-screen movie theater and a restaurant/bar. The hotel and surrounding offerings are being developed by Kevin R. Hanna, principal at Donaldson Development Group LLC and are anticipated to open in 2021.
