The developers for the proposed Aloft hotel project in downtown Milwaukee have obtained their financing for the project, according to a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA), which is assisting the project.

"They worked with U.S. Bank on the debt side of it," said WHEDA spokeswoman Kate Venne. Groundbreaking will occur, "within the next couple of weeks," she said.

Verona-based Horizon Construction Group Inc. is the general contractor for the project. Representatives with Horizon were meeting with city officials Tuesday to discuss building permit issues for the project.

In addition to the U.S. Bank financing, the Wisconsin Community Development Legacy Fund, a partnership of WHEDA, Milwaukee-based Legacy Bancorp and Impact Seven Inc. has approved a $10 million allocation of new markets tax credits for the project.

The project also received a $750,000 brownfields grant from the state Department of Commerce and a $75,000 grant from the state Department of Natural Resources.

Also, the city of Milwaukee will provide up to $858,042 in tax incremental financing (TIF) funds for the project to pay for a portion of the cost to build a riverwalk segment, dockwall and public plaza on the property.

A new group of development partners, called Milwaukee River Hotel LLC, have taken over the project from the previous development group, consisting of Rob Ruvin and David Florsheim. Milwaukee River Hotel LLC includes Ed Carow, a partner with Milwaukee-based Wave Development LLC, which has developed several hotels. Carow could not be reached for comment.

The five-story building will have a 160-room Aloft hotel and 3,200 square feet of retail space. It will be built on a vacant site along the Milwaukee River, northeast of West Juneau Avenue and North Old World Street in the Park East corridor.

The project is expected to create 75 permanent jobs, including 15 with annual salaries of more than $30,000 and 125 construction jobs.

"Not only will this hotel play a significant role in the development of downtown and the Park East corridor, these new jobs-over 200 in both long term and interim jobs-couldn't come at a better time for our state's economy," said Antonio Riley, executive director of WHEDA. "The Aloft hotel will be an incredible addition to our downtown, and we couldn't ask for better partners."

Aloft is a brand of White Plains, N.Y.-based Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. According to Starwood's web site, the Milwaukee Aloft hotel will open on Dec. 1, 2009. Aloft hotels are also planned for Green Bay and Madison.

Milwaukee-based Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the $85 million, 6-story, 386,000-square-foot expansion of its Franklin office complex, located northwest of South 27th Street and Drexel Avenue.

The project included 230,000 square feet of office space to house 1,100 employees, a 156,000-square-foot parking structure with a 1,655-vehicle capacity, a 100-person training room, dining and conference rooms.

The expansion added on to the 500,000-square-foot office building that Northwestern Mutual completed in 2004.

"This new facility is symbolic of Northwestern Mutual's steady growth, our commitment to serving clients, and our more than 150-year tradition of doing business in Wisconsin," Northwestern Mutual president and CEO Edward Zore said in news release. "Because of our expansion and financial strength, we are well-positioned to grow over the long term and continue doing what we do best: help our more than 3.3 million clients achieve financial security."

Northwestern Mutual has more than $1 trillion of life insurance protection in force and the company employs more than 5,000 people in the Milwaukee area.

The annual BizTimes Commercial Real Estate & Development Conference will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 14 at the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee.

Last year a record sell-out crowd of about 600 people attended the event. To register to attend this year's conference, click here.

The conference will focus on the strategic competitive advantage the Great Lakes region will have in the 21st century, when "water becomes the new oil." While heavily populated regions such as California, Arizona, Texas and Georgia are draining their supplies of fresh drinking water, the Great Lakes region contains 20 percent of the world's surface freshwater and 95 percent of America's surface freshwater.

The expert panel for this year’s BizTimes Commercial Real Estate & Development Conference will include:

Sean Linnane, vice president of Magellan Development Group LLC, one of downtown Chicago's most prominent real estate development companies. Linnane is overseeing the development of Chicago's $4 billion, mixed-use Lakeshore East community, believed to be the largest parcel of downtown land under development in any major U.S. city. Loewenberg will speak about the intrinsic value of waterfront development, and he will provide an outsider's perspective on Milwaukee's commercial real estate market and its use of the lakefront.

Franz Hoffman, president of Procorp Enterprises LLC in Milwaukee and chair of the Milwaukee 7 Water Council. Procorp specializes in sustainable water and wastewater treatment solutions. Hoffman will speak about the Great Lakes water resource and the need to use sustainable real estate development practices and products.

James Randel, commercial real estate attorney, broker investor and author. Randel is a leader in "added value" investing, an approach to real estate that attempts to boost the value of a property well beyond normal appreciation or inflation. His strategies have been followed by investors throughout the country. He is the author of "The Real Estate Game And How To Win It" and "Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur." Randel is a distinguished commentator on real estate issues at conferences throughout the nation, including the Harvard Business School. A native of Ohio, Randel will speak about the future strategic advantages of developing real estate in the Great Lakes region.

The opening remarks of the conference will be provided by Richard "Rocky" Marcoux, commissioner of the Milwaukee Department of City Development. Jim Villa, the new president of the Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin (CARW), will provide some exclusive market data at the conference. The conference will be moderated by Mark Eppli, Ph.D., professor of finance and chair of the Robert B. Bell Real Estate Program at Marquette University.

Small Business Times presents the conference annually in partnership with Marquette's Bell Real Estate Program and CARW.

Chicago-based HSA Commercial Real Estate recently purchased a 192,500-square-foot industrial building at 10277 Venice Dr., Sturtevant. The facility, located on a 16.4-acre site in the Renaissance Business Park, is 100 percent leased to Allstates Trucking Inc. and Bway Manufacturing. HSA's Wisconsin portfolio now consists of 2.2 million square feet of commercial space and 180 acres of vacant land in Mt. Pleasant, where two industrial buildings are under construction in a development called Park 94.

John and Richard Coury of Elizabeth Residence and Ramsey Woods Residence recently purchased the 71-bed community based residential facility at 5737 Erie St., Caledonia, from Villa St. Anna Inc., a subsidiary of Franciscan Ministries Inc. (the holding company for Wheaton Franciscan Services Inc.'s housing entities). The property is located in the Wind Point area of Caledonia. The Courys plan to renovate the building and decrease the number of units to 50. They also plan to build a 24-unit residential care apartment complex on the four acre site. In brokering the sale, Villa St. Anna was represented by Dave Nance of Ogden & Company Inc. and mortgage broker James Reid represented the buyers.

Title: President

Company: Wangard Partners, Inc. and Wangard Advisors, LLC

Education: UW- Eau Claire and Marquette. Continuing education at UW-Madison and Harvard School of Design.

Family: Wife, Kari; two dogs: Peanut and Shannon; and three horses.

City of Residence: Village of Oconomowoc Lake

What are you working on? "We are currently finishing a new student housing project four blocks from UW-Milwaukee at 1824 E. Park Place. The Park has 173 beds, 51 units, underground parking, study rooms on every floor, common area on the main floor with TV & pool tables, a fitness center and laundry facility. We also recently completed in 106 days, a 150,000-square-foot distribution center for JohnsonDiversey. We also have several new projects in the planning stage."

How does the market look to you? "The market currently is chock full of opportunities but challenging and testing our skills at the same time."

What was the best deal you've ever been involved in? "875 E. Wisconsin, Milwaukee."

What was the funniest moment of your career? "The funniest moment was watching a very talented singer (one of our co-workers) sing Happy Birthday to a business associate in the 'Marilyn Monroe' style. It was a surprise, in front of 35 people on the Edelweiss during an investor appreciation event."

Jon Hammes, the president and CEO of Brookfield-based Hammes Company, recently received a Distinguished Business Alumnus Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business. The award honors, "alumni whose efforts and achievements have made extraordinary contributions towards the advancement of business, community and the school." In the school's 100 year history, 73 individuals have received the award. Last year Hammes and his wife, Ann Hammes, were among 13 alumni responsible for a $85 million gift to the School of Business. Hammes Company is a developer of health care facilities. Prior to forming Hammes Company 17 years ago, Hammes was a Midwest regional partner for Trammel Crow Company.

Butler-based Berghammer Construction Corp. recently hired Michael Wallace as vice president of business development.

Milwaukee-based New Land Enterprises LLP recently launched a web site (www.thetransera.com)  for The Transera, the 26-story, 35-unit condo tower it plans to build adjacent to the historic Goll Mansion at 1550 N. Prospect Ave. on Milwaukee's east side.

Sussex-based Quad/Graphics Inc. recently selected Brookfield-based Grubb & Ellis|Apex Commercial as its exclusive commercial real estate services provider.

The state Department of Commerce recently announced that 15 communities will receive Wisconsin Waterfront Revitalization Initiative grants totaling $238,000, including a $15,000 grant to the City of Mequon. Mequon, with waterfront properties on Lake Michigan and the Milwaukee River, has developed a 10-15 year vision for area development and revitalization. Future plans include the development of a riverfront park, a river walk, additional housing, and the revitalization of key retail areas.

NAIOP and the League of Wisconsin Municipalities will co-host Building Community Support for Economic Development, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 7:30-11:30 a.m., Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee. Call NAIOP at (262) 522-6375 for more information.

IREM ARM Successful Management Practices, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 8-10:30 a.m., Wisconsin Association Management, 11801 W. Silver Spring Dr., Suite 200, Milwaukee. Call (414) 476-4736 for more information.

BOMA Luncheon, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 11:30 a.m., Milwaukee Athletic Club, 758 N. Broadway, Milwaukee.

BizTimes Commercial Real Estate Conference
BizTimes Commercial Real Estate & Development Conference, Friday, Nov. 14, 7:30-9:30 a.m., Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee.

NAIOP and CARW Market Update, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 7:30-9 a.m., Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee. Call (262) 522-6375 for more information.

IREM Holiday Party, Thursday, Dec. 4, 6:30-8 p.m., North Hills Country Club, N73 W13430 Appleton Ave., Menomonee Falls. Call (414) 476-4736 for more information.

BOMA/AOMA Holiday Party, Tuesday, Dec. 9, Westmoor Country Club, 400 S. Moorland Road, Brookfield.