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Milwaukee Marriott approved by historical commission
Milwaukee's Historic Preservation Commission has voted to give permission to a developer to demolish historic buildings in the downtown area to clear the way for a proposed $50 million Marriott Hotel, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
The commission did say that the building facades would need to be preserved and blended into the new facility, according to the news provider.
Alderman Bob Bauman, a member of the commission, told the news source that the proposal aimed to give developer Jackson Street Management LLC the flexibility to construct the hotel while still preserving the historical structures' exterior.
However, the wording of the proposal did not clearly grant or deny approval to begin the construction of the hotel, but gave the developer an opportunity to offer a revised plan with the new requirements in mind, the news source said.
Supporters of the new hotel project say that the mostly vacant buildings are simply in poor condition and lack significant historical value.
"There's a difference between historic, and merely old," Steve Baas, director of governmental affairs at the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, told the news provider.
Other hotel supporters, including Mayor Tom Barrett's Department of City Development and other business groups, say that the Marriott would have a number of significant economic benefits, including 350 to 450 added construction jobs and 175 to 200 full-time jobs at the hotel.
Despite these potential economic advantages, the preservation ordinance in the city does not allow the historical commission to consider these elements when making a decision, the news source said.
The architect for the development firm, Doug Nysse, of Kahler Slater Architects Inc., said that the hotel could not be constructed within the buildings as they exist.
According to the news provider, the majority of the $50 million in financing would come from the federal EB-5 visa program. Through this program, foreign nationals can obtain U.S. green card eligibility by making an investment of $1 million (or $500,000 in some areas) in an American company or project that either creates or maintains at least 10 full-time jobs.
The 19th century buildings in question include one which housed the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle, which was Milwaukee's first Jewish newspaper that used the English language, according to the news provider.