Wauwatosa-based Weas Development Co. has scaled back its proposed hotel development for Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward, and the company hopes to begin construction by March 1.

Doug Weas, president of the firm, said the project could be complete by the fall of 2008 or the spring of 2009, he said.

The $75 million development would include a 165-room hotel with an 80,000-square-foot health club, a 450-car parking garage and 13,000 square feet of retail space. The 14-story building would be built at the southeast corner of North Broadway and East St. Paul Avenue.

Originally, Weas had planned to construct a 17-story building with 40 condominiums. However, a structure that tall would have conflicted with the building standards in the Third Ward Historic District, so Weas eliminated the condos from the project and reduced the building’s proposed height to 14 stories.

The hotel would be a Renaissance ClubSport, a new upscale brand for Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott International Inc.

“We’ll be pushing the upper end of the Milwaukee market,” Weas said.

Weas is negotiating with city officials for tax incremental financing (TIF) for the $75 million project. Weas declined to disclose the amount of TIF that he is seeking. TIF is money borrowed by the city for a project and paid back by the increased tax revenue created by the development.

“Right now, I think (the TIF request) is our biggest hurdle,” Weas said. The city assistance is needed “just to make it financially viable,” he said.

Weas is in negotiations with the Historic Third Ward Association, which owns a small building at the corner of North Broadway and East St. Paul Avenue. The building would be demolished to clear space for the hotel project. In exchange, the association would own 7,000 square feet of the retail space in the building, which would be used in conjunction with the Milwaukee Public Market, which the Third Ward Association owns and is located at the northwest corner of the intersection.

The growth of the Third Ward in recent years has created a market there for a hotel there, Weas said.

“If you look at the population that’s grown there and the number of residential units, they have a service need and a need for a hotel,” he said. “Not just for Summerfest, but for their friends and family who come to visit.”

Several other hotels have been proposed for the downtown area in recent months. However, none of them are under construction yet, and Weas’ project is the only hotel planned for the Third Ward.

“I think we have a good product, and in the end, good products win,” he said. “I feel confident, even if other hotels are built, we’ll be OK.”

Fort Myers, Fla.-based Development Opportunity Corp. (DOC) plans to break ground during the first or second week of December on a $27 million, 12-story building at the southeast corner of North Water Street and East Juneau Avenue in downtown Milwaukee.

The project will include a 125-room Staybridge Suites hotel, 17,000 square feet of retail space and 30 residential condominiums, DOC president Phil Hugh said. There are more than 10 hotel developments in various stages of development in and around downtown Milwaukee.

Several hotel industry and commercial real estate observers say downtown Milwaukee cannot support that many new hotels. Therefore, many expect only a few of the planned hotels to actually be built. The Development Opportunity Corp. project would be the first of the projects to begin construction.

According to a recent report by Boston-based Colliers International, the industrial space vacancy rate in the Milwaukee area increased a bit during the third quarter to 7.57 percent, up from 7.54 percent during the second quarter.

For the nation as a whole, the industrial space vacancy rate was 8.24 percent, down slightly from 8.31 percent in the second quarter and 8.7 percent for the third quarter last year.

“Milwaukee is slightly better than the U.S. average in terms of vacancy rate, but still pretty much in the middle of the pack,” said James T. Barry, III, president and CEO of Colliers Barry, the Milwaukee affiliate of Colliers International.

Nationally, the industrial real estate market had steady demand and an increase in construction during the third quarter, according to the Colliers International report.

"The third quarter held few surprises for the industrial market," said Ross Moore, senior vice president and director of market and economic research at Colliers International. "We anticipated an increase in completions and felt demand would stay strong, despite a slowdown in manufacturing and the overall economy. Rents did increase slightly more than anticipated, but our full-year forecast of a 10-percent increase is now squarely within grasp."

Company: Eppstein Uhen Architects Inc.
Title: Principal
Education: Master of Architecture, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1985
Family: Two sons, Derek 18, Nicolas 17.
City of residence: Madison
Hobbies: Motorcycle and bicycle touring, hiking, camping, skiing, dinner dates.

What are you working on?
“South 27th Street Streetscaping/ branding for Franklin/Oak Creek, Menomonee Falls North Hills Neighborhood/ Woodland Prime, Madison Hilldale Mall/ Whole Foods/ Mixed Use, Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corp. HQ LEED Gold.”

How does the market look to you?
“Average to slow growth in offices, moderate to strong growth in schools and university work, good but slowing growth in condos, good and expanding growth in retail, strong growth in health care and senior housing.”

What was the best deal you’ve ever been involved in?
“Northwestern Mutual Franklin Campus, 80 acres, 2 million square feet master planned for 5,000 employees.”

What was the funniest moment of your career?
“The most fun was definitely working with Jamie Hummert on the renovation of the Milwaukee Yacht Club. It was fun, not funny, but we were able to renovate a dusty old restaurant into a sophisticated but casual club house lounge and dining/ meeting room.”

River Bend Investors LLC recently purchased a 57,424-square-foot industrial building at 1200 W. Second St., Oconomowoc, in the River Bend Industrial Park, from Plastocon Inc. The sale price was not disclosed. David Buckley, a broker with Colliers Barry, represented the buyer and seller in negotiating the deal. Plastocon, an injection molding company, will remain in the building as the tenant and has signed a long term lease, Buckley said. River Bend Investors includes David Lang, the owner of Brookfield-based Commercial Investment Partners and Kevin Crary, the owner of Pewaukee-based CF & Associates. The building is on a seven acre property, which provides room for expansion, Buckley said.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Company recently renewed its lease for 10,546 square feet of office space at 15700 W. Bluemound Road, Brookfield, from North Shore Bank. William Bonifas, senior vice president of CB Richard Ellis, represented North Shore Bank and Mark Stables, senior vice president of Chicago-based Grubb & Ellis Co. represented Liberty Mutual in negotiating the deal. The bank occupies the vast majority of space in the building, located at the northwest corner of the busy Bluemound Road and Moorland Road intersection, across the street from Brookfield Square Mall. “(The building) has a couple of other small tenants,” Bonifas said. Liberty Mutual has occupied space in the building for about 10 years, he said.

The Waukesha-based Metropolitan Builders Association recently presented its builder of the year award to Bob Flanagan of the Waukesha-based Bob Flanagan Co.; the associate of the year award to Brad Dagen of Brookfield-based Rose & De Jong S.C. and the associate’s choice award to Jeff Burg of Pewaukee-based JFK Design Build Inc.

The Metropolitan Builders Association also recently installed its new officers. They are: president, Bruce Johnson, Milwaukee-based BDC Building Design & Construction; president-elect, John Siepmann, Waukesha-based Siepmann Realty Corp.; vice president, Timothy O’Brien, Brookfield-based William Ryan Homes Inc.; secretary-treasurer, Ann Rodrigues, Pewaukee-based David & Goliath Builders Inc. Installed for associate advisory board leadership: chairman associate, Dave Molenda, Brookfield-based Weather Tek Design Center; vice chair associate, Robert Teper, Milwaukee-based Michael Best & Friedrich, secretary-treasurer, Lyn Schulz, Waukesha-based Signature Lighting. The additions to the board of directors were: Mark Benkowski, Greendale-based Custom Design Associates Inc.; Kevin Dittmar, Menomonee Falls-based Dittmar Realty Inc., Jill Liptow, Pewaukee-based Remodeling Center Inc. and Ed Miller, Cedarburg-based E. Miller & Associates Inc. The additions to the associate advisory board were: Paul Trapp, Hartland-based Paul Trapp Builders Ltd.; Pam Courtney, Wauwatosa-based Western Building Products Inc.; Colleen Horner, Pewaukee-based Colleen Horner Kitchen • Bath • Tile • Stone; Marty Schallock, Menomonee Falls-based Malkin’s Carpets Inc.; Susan Montie, Waukesha-based ACS/Advanced Communication Specialists.

Three members were inducted into the Metropolitan Builders Association Hall of Fame. They are: Jim Cauley, Mequon-based Embassy Construction Corp. founder Jerry McGinnis and Waukesha-based Harmony Homes Inc. founder Bryce Styza.

CARW 2006 Holiday Party, 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m., Monday, Dec. 4, Wisconsin Club, 900 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, (414-271-2021).

NAIOP 2006 Industrial and Office Market Update, 7:15 a.m.-9 a.m., Wednesday, Dec. 6, Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, (262-522-6375).

IREM holiday party, 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 7, Swank, 628 N. Water St., Milwaukee, (414-476-4736).

Blueprint for Sustainable Development, Designing for a Greener Future, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 7, Ellwood H. May Environmental Park, 3615 Mueller Road, Sheboygan, (800-969-7013).

Construction Economic Forecast, 7:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m., Wednesday, Dec. 13, Milwaukee Athletic Club, 758 N. Broadway, Milwaukee, (414-778-4100).

Brookfield-based Shorewest Realtors recently hired Guy Ramstack as a sales associate in its Mukwonago office, Marquita McVicker as a sales associate in its downtown Milwaukee office and Kristy Plassmeyer as a sales associate in its New Berlin office.

Mequon-based Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage recently hired Nicole Mansfield as a sales associate in its Cedarburg office, Ora Todd as a sales associate in its Menomonee Falls office, Randall Bauter as a sales associate in its Mequon office, John Wagner as a sales associate in its Metrowest office, Clair Holland as a sales associate in its Racine office and Vicky Vasudeva as a sales associate in its Shorewood office.

Milwaukee-based C.G. Schmidt recently hired Theresa Miresse as a project accountant and Jeff Werderman as a project manager, and promoted Dave Giordano to director of marketing.

West Allis-based Triad Construction Inc. recently hired Tom Long as controller, Chris Brandt as yard manager and Andy McMahon as a carpenter apprentice.

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