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Proposed EB-5 hotel causes historic building controversy
A group of developers want to build a full-service Marriott in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, using EB-5 investments but first they will need to convince to the city to let them tear down a number of historically designated buildings.
Jackson Street Management is seeking to build the $50 million hotel, according to the Milwaukee Small Business Times.
Spokesman for the project Evan Zeppos said that it would be partially funded by the EB-5 visa program in partnership with RCI FirstPathway Partners.
The EB-5 visa program was originally established to help American businesses attract foreign investment. Under the program, if a foreign national invests $1 million (or in some areas, $500,000) in a U.S. business and that investment leads to the creation or preservation of 10 jobs, the investor, his wife and unmarried children under 21 years old become eligible for U.S. green cards.
Zeppos told the news provider that the project would give downtown Milwaukee a boost by attracting visitors and conventions. In addition, he said that the hotel would result in 200 permanent jobs and 450 construction jobs.
However, not everyone is so sure that the new Marriott would be a boon for the area.
Alderman Robert Bauman, who represents the downtown area, said he objects to the proposal, adding that the developers should find another area to construct the hotel.
"I welcome [the project] on any number of vacant surface parking lots in downtown Milwaukee,” Bauman said.
The proposed hotel would require the demolition of five historic buildings near Wisconsin Avenue, which is the city's main street, according to the news provider.
Zeppos said that the project would not work in any other area and that the historic structures would have to be razed for the project to go forward.
"To move it off of Wisconsin Avenue is to say, 'Marriott, go somewhere else,'" he told the news provider. "Marriott wants to be on the east end of Wisconsin Avenue. They love this location."
Bauman objected to this assertion, questioning the authenticity of the claim.
"I think that's just B.S.," he said. "The only reason they’re pushing this deal is that's the deal they have."
Some have questioned the historic nature of the buildings, pointing out that they have been drastically altered over the years.
"You could never, ever get it to what it was," real estate business owner Michael Levine told the news provider regarding one of the buildings in question. "It will never be what was built in the 1860s."