Additional investors have joined Bob Lang as owners of the Delafield Hotel and the group is planning an expansion that could add up to 50 suites, a parking structure and a new ballroom.

In addition, Fort Atkinson-based IDM Group LLC, which has provided consulting services for the hotel, recently took on full management duties of the hotel.

The 38-suite hotel at 415 Genesee St. opened in 2006. Lang built the hotel in a former warehouse building that was built with the same Williamsburg style that he used for several other buildings in downtown Delafield that he developed.

Lang also owns the Erin Hills golf course in the Washington County Town of Erin. The founder and former owner of the Lang Cos., he has sold all of his businesses other than the golf course and the hotel.

Recently Lang added several new investors to the ownership of the hotel, including Scott Rookus of Jenison, Mich.-based Rookus Capital and James Gray, managing director of Barrington, Ill.-based Cornice and Rose International LLC.

The hotel ownership group, now called Delafield Hotel LLC, is proposing a four-story addition to the north side of the existing hotel building and a one-story-parking garage (with a green roof) that would be attached to the building addition and would be north of the Be Fitness building at 405 Genesee St.

The hotel needs more rooms and more variety in suite type and size to capture additional business said Connie Barbian, principal of IDM Group.

"The hotel is doing very well and they will do much better with more rooms and the right suite mix," she said.

The exact number of additional rooms has yet to be determined and will be based on what city officials allow and the size of each suite, Barbian said. The plan is to add up to 50 suites, which would bring the hotel's total number of suites to 88.

The hotel is built on a hill and the one-story, 60-space parking structure would be built downhill from the hotel so that the green roof would be even with the existing hotel building's first floor.

The hotel addition would also have a new banquet room with 5,000 to 6,000 square feet of space. It would be an improvement on the current hotel's banquet room, which has pillars and would be converted to breakout meeting rooms, Barbian said.

The new ballroom would have higher ceilings and, "it would be more of the beautiful ballroom that people seek," Barbian said. The new ballroom would also have modern equipment for business presentations, she said.

Plans submitted to the city also include a new spa facility for the hotel addition.

Barbian declined to disclose the cost of the project. She said the hotel owners have tentative financing for the project.

"They have proposed financing in place," she said. "It's not signed and sealed. They have a handshake on financing."

There is more vacant industrial space in the Milwaukee area, according to two new reports.

Bethesda, Md.-based CoStar Group Inc. reported that the Milwaukee area's industrial market had a 6.3 percent vacancy rate at the end of the second quarter, up compared to 5.8 percent at the end f the first quarter.

The Milwaukee area had a negative net absorption of 1.6 million square feet of industrial space during the second quarter, according to CoStar.

Boston-based Colliers International reported that the Milwaukee area's industrial market had an 8.1 percent vacancy rate at the end of the second quarter, up from 7.5 percent for the second quarter of 2008, but a slight improvement compared to 8.2 percent in the first quarter of this year.

Colliers International, whose local affiliate is Milwaukee-based Colliers Barry, said the nation industrial space vacancy rate is even higher at 10.16 percent.

"The U.S. warehouse market posted one of its weakest quarters since record-keeping began - its only saving grace was the dearth of new construction, which kept the vacancy rate from spiking even more severely," said Ross Moore, executive vice president and director of market & economic research for Colliers International. "In general, healthy warehouse users are sitting tight right now. Their preference is to make do with their current premises and if conditions dictate, they favor signing short-term leases. Meanwhile, firms that have seen a dramatic drop-off in business are giving back space and consolidating where possible, in an effort to rein in costs. Our immediate outlook for industrial is 'more of the same' - making leasing conditions quite arduous for most warehouse owners and investors."

A topping off ceremony was held last week for the Aurora Medical Center that Milwaukee-based Aurora Health Care is building in Grafton near Highway 60 and I-43. A topping off ceremony involves lifting the final beam for the structural steel into place.

Construction of the 520,000-square-foot, 89-bed hospital began about 9 months ago and is expected to be competed in the fall of 2010.

“Our patients deserve the best care, designed for their unique health care needs,” said Dr. Turkal, CEO of Aurora Health Care. "I am confident this one-of-a-kind medical center and the people who will care for you, your family and your neighbors will help us transform this into a place of healing.”

Milwaukee County Supervisors Patricia Jursik, Marina Dimitrijevic and Christopher Larson and state Rep. Christine Sinicki, D-Milwaukee, announced this week that they have formed the "Coalition to Save the Hoan" to fight for the preservation of the Hoan Bridge.

The bridge, which connects downtown to Bay View, St. Francis, Cudahy and other communities on the south side, needs an estimated $200 million in repairs. Because of the costs of the repairs the state is considering other options, including replacement of the bridge with a street level boulevard. The DOT hired a consulting firm to examine what real estate development possibilities would be created by lowering the bridge to grade level.

However, some politicians who represent the south side of the metro area say the bridge and the Lake Parkway provides a vital link for their communities to downtown Milwaukee and should remain as it is.

The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) recently requested that Governor Jim Doyle order an in-depth study of rehabilitation and replacement options for the Hoan Bridge in Milwaukee.

"When a major group such as the Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce (sic) asks for a study of alternatives to the Hoan Bridge, there is a hidden assumption that the Hoan Bridge should not be resurfaced and that other links such as ground-level bridges would suffice," said Jursik. "Before the mighty arch of the Hoan Bridge, south siders were often treated as the poor step-sister of the larger community. The recent renaissance within Bay View and the greater south shore coincides precisely with the building of the Hoan Bridge in 1977. We must not permit the DOT to steal our glass slipper, the Hoan Bridge."

"Leave the Hoan alone," said Dimitrijevic. "We need to obtain the real cost estimates for re-decking this bridge. We should not accept the DOT's assumptions. Thanks to the revamped Marquette Interchange, Bay View is more connected than ever before. Why would we want to reverse the great progress that's been made?"

Sinicki said she would hold a town hall meeting to obtain input from citizens and would do "everything within her power" to keep the bridge in place.

The Milwaukee area is getting more than $3 million in funds from the federal stimulus package to help clean up contaminated sites, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Tuesday.

The funding is expected to create 33 local jobs, according to the governor's office. That would be about $90,000 per job.

The former Tower Automotive and Esser Paint sites are getting the lion's share of the money.

The city of Milwaukee will receive $1.1 million to clean up petroleum contamination at the former Tower Automotive property at Capitol Drive and Hopkins Street in the central city. The site has 50 to 70 underground storage tanks. City officials plan to purchase the property and redevelop it into a 58-acre business park.

The city of Milwaukee will also receive $864,845 to clean up and redevelop the former Esser Paint property at West Galena Street and North 32nd Avenue. Both the Tower and Esser Paint sites are located in the city's 30th Street Industrial Corridor.

"These funds provided by the Recovery and Reinvestment Act will allow clean up to proceed on sites contaminated by hazardous substances, creating local jobs and protecting public health," Doyle said. "Not only will clean up efforts create local jobs, but revitalizing the contaminated sites will provide potential new locations for businesses to operate."

Non-profit moving to Pabst brewery

The Planning Council for Health and Human Services Inc. plans to move from 1442 N. Farwell Ave. on Milwaukee's east side to the Boiler House building in the former Pabst brewery complex, which is being redeveloped into a mixed use neighborhood by Zilber Ltd. founder Joseph Zilber.

Zilber sold the Boilder House building at 1243 N. 10th St. to developers Max Dermond and Charlie Trainer.

The Planning Council will occupy 4,100 square feet of space on the second floor of the 3-story building. The first and third floors of the building are fully occupied and only about two-thirds of the second floor remains vacant.

The Planning Council is a non-profit organization that provides planning, evaluation, and research services to advance community and health services.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for us to have our facilities in this wonderful, historic and sustainable neighborhood," said Kathleen Pritchard, executive director of The Planning Council. "This setting is perfect for us to fulfill our mission of engaging the community in health and human services through planning, evaluation and research."

The lease transaction was brokered by Jennifer Green of CB Richard Ellis, who represented The Planning Council, and Lyle Landowski of Inland Companies, who represented Dermond and Trainer.

In addition to The Planning Council lease, Zilber announced that construction of the 880-car parking structure, under construction at North 9th Street and Juneau Avenue in the former brewery complex, is on time and is expected to be complete in November.

Land trusts merge
The Kettle Moraine Land Trust and the Land Trust of Walworth County recently announced that they have completed a merger. The combined organization will be known as Kettle Moraine Land Trust. The KMLT currently owns and manages the Island Woods preserve at Lauderdale Lakes and holds conservation easements (CE’s) on the Lauderdale Lakes Country Club, and on fourteen lake front lots on North Lake near the intersection of County Highways “O” and “A” in the Town of Sugar Creek. CE’s are legal instruments that assure that the conservation value of the lands will be protected in perpetuity. With the merger, KMLT has acquired Jackson Creek Preserve which is located along the east side of Highway 67 south of Elkhorn. “The merger of the two organizations will better serve Walworth County’s needs for land protection and stewardship,” said Jerry Petersen, president of the land trust. More information is available at www.kmlandtrust.org.

Ogden purchases office condo in Phoenix area
Milwaukee-based Ogden & Company Inc. announced that it has purchased a 5,400-square-foot office condo in Mesa, Ariz., for its Phoenix office. The company's Arizona office has 30 employees and is currently located in Scottsdale, another Phoenix suburb. The office will be moved to Mesa later this month.