The Hofbrauhaus microbrewery and restaurant, which Cincinnati Restaurant Group Inc. plans to open in the former Pabst brewery complex in downtown Milwaukee, should open by summer of 2008 said Jim Haertel, president of Brew City Redevelopment Group LLC.

"We will be brewing beer here again at this site in 2008," he said.
Haertel owns the former gift shop, visitor's center and corporate offices at 901-17 W. Juneau Ave. in the former Pabst brewery complex. The Hofbrauhaus would occupy the first floor of the two joined buildings that Haertel owns.

The Hofbrauhaus could be the first major tenant to open in the redeveloped Pabst brewery. Zilber Ltd. founder Joseph Zilber purchased the rest of the 20-acre property and has begun demolition and remediation work to transform the site into a new neighborhood of residences, office space, stores and restaurants. Zilber plans to gut and repair many of the historic buildings in the complex and sell them to other developers. He also plans to redevelop some of the buildings himself.

The second floor of Haertel's buildings would be occupied by the Museum of Beer and Brewing, which should also open next year, Haertel said. The museum could open later this year in a temporary location in Milwaukee Brewing Co.'s Second Street Brewery at 613 S. Second St., which is owned by Jim McCabe, owner of the Milwaukee Ale House.

Preliminary plans for the upper floors of Haertel's buildings call for a 32-room boutique hotel, which Haertel describes as a beer-themed bed and breakfast inn. The hotel will take longer to develop and would open later, he said.

A courtyard inside of Haertel's buildings will be used as a beer garden for the Hofbrauhaus. To take advantage of the beer garden, Cincinnati Restaurant Group wants to get the Hofbrauhaus open before the weather gets cold next year, Haertel said.

Schaumburg, Ill.-based Wight Realty Group's plans to redevelop the Hillmoor Golf Club in Lake Geneva could include a 100-room Hyatt Summerset Suites hotel.

Wight's redevelopment plans include totally rebuilding the golf course, 32 townhouses, up to 242 single family home sites, the hotel, a 17,000-square-foot banquet hall connected to the hotel and 16,000 square feet of retail space along Highway 50. 

Wight Realty Group has not finalized a commitment from an operator for the hotel, but the Hyatt Summerset appears likely, said Mike Assad, one of the owners of Wight.

"Hyatt has expressed a very strong interest," Assad said. Summerset Suites is a brand of extended stay hotels for Chicago-based Global Hyatt Corp. "It's like an upscale Residence Inn," Assad said. There are 19 Hyatt Summerset Suites locations, most are on the coasts and none are in Wisconsin.

The first phase of Wight's redevelopment project is expected to begin later this year. The golf course portion of the project is being designed and built by Marengo, Ill.-based Lohmann Golf Designs. The 18 hole course will be changed from a par 72 layout to a par 64 layout with 10 par 3 holes, six par 4 holes and two par 5 holes.

The redesign of the golf course is an attempt to make the 84-year-old course competitive with the dozens of newer golf courses within a short drive of Lake Geneva, Assad said.,  "By having a shorter course you can play a round (of 18) in 3 to 3 ½ hours," Assad said.

The new course will also be more aesthetically appealing. All of the holes will be either totally rebuilt or redesigned. "We told Lohmann we want any of the holes to be capable of being plucked out of here and placed in Augusta (National, home of The Masters in Augusta, Ga.)," Assad said. "We are changing or modifying or eliminating every hole. There isn't one that won't be touched."

The home sites in the development are being sold to builders and the site for the retail building is being sold to Deerfield, Ill.-based SJS Realty Services Inc., which will build a multi-tenant retail building there. Wight also plans to improve Highway 50 in front of the property, adding several turn lanes.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recently opened its new 1.2 million square foot regional distribution center on Highway A, east of Highway 151, in Beaver Dam. By comparison, the massive Roundy's distribution center at Pabst Farms in Oconomowoc is 1.1 million square feet.

About 650 new jobs were created by the distribution center, according to Wal-Mart. The facility is Wal-Mart's third distribution center in Wisconsin. From the Beaver Dam center, the company will distribute general merchandise to its stores in portions of eastern and southern Wisconsin, western Michigan and northern Illinois. Wal-Mart’s other Wisconsin distribution centers are located in Tomah and Menomonie.

Beaver Dam was selected for the facility because of its centralized location in the region and because of the work ethic of employees at Wal-Mart's Beaver Dam store, said Lisa B. Nelson, Wal-Mart’s senior manager for public affairs in Wisconsin.

All of the jobs at the new distribution center are full time positions with benefits, according to Wal-Mart. The benefits include medical, dental, life and disability insurance and paid holidays, vacations and personal time. Employees are also eligible for participation in Wal-Mart’s profit sharing, 401(k) and stock purchase plans, according to the company.

Wal-Mart has faced criticism for having a large number of employees in Wisconsin who receive health coverage from the taxpayer-supported BadgerCare program.

Wal-Mart operates 49 Supercenters, 28 discount stores and 11 Sam’s Clubs in Wisconsin, with 27,993 employees, according to the company.

Company: Wispark LLC 

Title: vice president 

Education: University of Wisconsin - Madison, degree in real estate and urban land economics 

Family: Wife, Kristi and 11-month old daughter, Isabella

City of residence: Wauwatosa

Hobbies & Interests: Golf, travel,  exercise, mountain biking, fishing.

What are you working on? "We have various projects and prospects we are pursuing for our LakeView Corporate Park, PrairieWood Corporate Park and GrandView Business Park developments in Kenosha and Racine County. They include office build-to-suit, industrial leases, and land transactions. Interestingly, we've had a burst of inquiries lately from multiple companies about establishing data centers in our area. Activity seems to be pretty good down there.  
"We own three-quarters of a city block of land in downtown Milwaukee consisting of approximately 3 acres. It is bordered on the south by W. Clybourn, N. Plankinton on the east, 2nd Street on the west and W. Michigan on the north. I'm in the beginning stages of conceptualizing a mixed-use development plan for that parcel and generating a marketing plan to identify end-users. The property has great access and visibility to Interstate 794 and is only two blocks from the Amtrak Station which is currently undergoing a major renovation/modernization. The Amtrak Station will play a major role in the region's on-going initiative to add rail connectivity to downtown and the metropolitan area."

How does the market look to you? "I am cautiously optimistic for 2007. There are development opportunities out there, but you have to work hard and keep sharpening your pencil to get the deal done. The office market appears slow. I think the industrial market has some strength especially in the I-94 corridor between Kenosha and the airport. I think the Milwaukee market has a lot of potential in the long run, however, fundamentals such as job growth and population growth are needed to create new development opportunities versus playing musical chairs." 

What was the best deal you've ever been involved in? "211 W. Wisconsin Avenue - 105,000 square foot office building in downtown. This was the most complex and stressful project I have ever worked on but also the most rewarding. We completely gutted the interior but most notably also dismantled the entire exterior skin of the building. This was the beginning of a $10 million-plus makeover. Probably the most complex scope of the project was adding the new modern architectural precast panel and glazing system facade to the 100-year old frame which it obviously wasn't designed for. Our anchor tenant for the building which we signed up shortly after acquisition was the General Service Administration/ Internal Revenue Service. Working with the government was a learning experience. The project has been very well received by the community and I think it added some new energy and freshness to that corner of downtown. We successfully sold the asset to a Chicago based investment group .... and made a few bucks."

What was the funniest moment of your career? "It seems that most of the funniest moments of my career have occurred during various closing dinners/parties. That's all I can really say."

Best Buy plans to open a store in Lake Geneva. Richfield, Minn.-based Best Buy Co. Inc. leased 30,038 square feet of space in Geneva Commons, a retail center that is being developed by Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies US Inc. north of a Home Depot store, which is located northwest of Highway 12 and Highway 50 on the east side of Lake Geneva. For the lease negotiations, Best Buy was represented by Dan Cohen of Mid-America Real Estate - Wisconsin LLC. Ryan Companies was represented by Joe Parrott of CB Richard Ellis. Geneva Commons will be anchored by a 126,842-square-foot Target store and the Best Buy store. The Target store is already under construction and is expected to open in October. The Best Buy store is expected to open next year. They will be the first Target and Best Buy stores in Walworth County.

Milwaukee-based La Macchia Group LLC recently hired Doug Throndson as chief financial officer, Jean Chandler as a designer, Nicole Springstroh as a designer, Erin Gahagan as a design coordinator and Kim Magnabosco as an executive assistant.

First Weber Group Realtors recently hired several realtors: Wesley Niemcek in the Brookfield office, Charles Reed in the Elmbrook/Wauwatosa office, James Konecny and Heidi Vanderhei in the Lake Country office, Krystel Graf in the Mequon office, Heidi Fillinger in the Menomonee Falls office, Theresa Van Dyke and Judy Weitzer in the metro south office, Angie McDonald in the Muskego office, Andrew Bottoni and Kristin Reineck in the north shore office, Rebecca Mian and Sandi Passineau in the West Bend office.

CG Schmidt, Milwaukee, recently promoted Patrick Schultz to project manager and Emilio Ramirez to assistant project manager.

The Brookfield office of J.P. Cullen & Sons recently hired Melissa Franken and Katie Stefan as administrative assistants. 

The Brookfield office M. A. Mortenson recently hired Brian Hick as a mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer, Roberta Oldenburg as design phase coordinator and John Ruether as project engineer. 

Milwaukee-based Inland Companies Inc. recently hired Christine McBride as director of marketing.

Wauwatosa-based David Lepak & Associates LLC was hired to provide assistance for the condominium and hotel development in Milwaukee's Fifth Ward planned by The Rivianna Group LLC. The 500,000-square-foot, $100 million Rivianna project, announced recently by developer Bob Schultz, will include up to 220 condominiums, an 80-room boutique hotel and more than 10,00 square feet of retail space. The development would consist of three, 11-story towers built on top of a four-story base building at 236 S. Water St., along the Milwaukee River in the Fifth Ward. "We're delighted to be involved in this exciting project," Lepak said. "Rivianna will change the landscape of Milwaukee's south side." David Lepak & Associates is a freelance development firm established in 2003 that provides project management and financial analysis consulting for real estate and economic development projects.

The Local Initiatives Support Corp. recently announced the winners of its 8th annual Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation (MANDIs). Madison-based Gorman & Company and the Milwaukee Urban League won the State Farm Insurance "Building Blocks Award" Large Project for the Dr. Wesley L. Scott Senior Living Community. A $12.5 million redevelopment, the former Milwaukee Urban League headquarters building was transformed into 80 senior apartments, 74 of which are targeted to households below 60 percent of the area median income. The State Farm Insurance "Building Blocks Award" Small Project was for the Toussaint Square development by the North Avenue Community Development Corporation. Built at 35th Street and North Avenue, Touissaint Square has four three-bedroom apartments and 19 two-bedroom apartments, with rents ranging from $500 to $650 a month and targeted for families with annual incomes between $20,400 and $43,560. The building also has 15,000 square feet of retail space. Lo Neng Kyatoukaysy, executive director of the Hmong American Friendship Association, won the navigator award. Foley & Lardner LLP, whose attorneys have done pro bono work for redevelopment efforts in Milwaukee's central city, won the vision award. The Housing Trust Fund Coalition received the trailblazer award. Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corp. received the cornerstone award.

Wauwatosa-based Zimmerman Design Group has changed its name to Zimmerman Architectural Studios. The company also recently unveiled a new corporate logo, designed by Pewaukee-based Aurum Design. "We believe that our new identity more accurately reflects the character and organization of our company, as well as the multiple aspects of architecture, design and engineering in which we are involved," said Dave Stroik, president of Zimmerman Architectural Studios. "At the same time, we felt it was important to maintain the Zimmerman name because of the recognition, brand equity and goodwill that has been built over the years." Zimmerman Architectural Studios was founded in 1906 by architect Peter Brust.

IREM ABC’s of Collection and Eviction, Thursday, April 12, 8-10:30 a.m., Wisconsin Club, 900 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee. Overview of the evictions process and evictions law. To register call (414) 476-4736.

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