Single Page | 
Multiple Pages
Home > BizTimes Daily > Archives > July 10, 2009
Rivianna developers 'very close' to getting financing
Published July 10, 2009 - BizTimes Daily
Bob Schultz and Harry Drea, the developers for the proposed Rivianna apartment and hotel development in Milwaukee, are "very optimistic" about obtaining financing for the project and believe they are "very close" to reaching an agreement with a funding source, according to spokesman Evan Zeppos.
That optimism is a big reason the developers, who formed Rivianna Development Group LLC, have decided to bring the long-delayed project back before the City Plan Commission on Monday, July 13, Zeppos said. The developers have made some changes to the project and are now seeking final city approval of a detailed plan development.
The proposed development consists of three 15-story towers that would be built on top of a four-story base on a vacant three-quarters of an acre lot at 236 S. Water St., located along the Milwaukee River in the Fifth Ward, just south of the Historic Third Ward. The development would have a maximum of 186 residences, a 128-room hotel, 11,000 square feet of retail space and a 411-space parking structure. In a second option, the developer says the project may have a larger hotel with 236 rooms and 152 residences.
Zeppos declined to name or describe the potential funding source for the project. Approval of the plans by the city could help the Rivianna developers complete their financing deal, Zeppos said.
Although negotiations with the potential funding source are ongoing, a financing deal for the project is not yet in place, Zeppos said.
"We don't have a signed term sheet with the funder," he said. "The funding source likes the project and the location. They have had very good conversations with the funding source."
The owners of the site, Craig and David Jorgensen of Pewaukee-based VJS Development Group LLC, recently placed a "for sale" sign on the property. Rivianna Development Group had an option on the property that expired earlier this year. However, this week the development group signed a new option agreement with the Jorgensens this week.
"They now have control of the property (again)," Craig Jorgensen said. "They have an option. It's brand new, the ink is still drying on it."
Jorgensen said they had not heard from the Rivianna developers for several months while the project was being retooled. But negotiations resumed recently when the developers prepared to bring the project back to the Plan Commission.
"We have been negotiating back and forth with the Rivianna folks," Jorgensen said. "
The original plan for the development, submitted before the downtown Milwaukee condominium market collapsed, focused on residential condominiums. The latest plans call for rental residential units which could be converted to for-sale units in the future. The residences in the building would range from 500-square-foot studios and 1,850-square-foot, three-bedroom units to penthouses ranging in size from 1,950 to 2,900 square feet.
