Marriott-Starwood merger could mean higher prices for Milwaukee hotel rooms
Marriott International Inc. will buy Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. for $12.2 billion to create the world’s largest hotel chain with top brands including Sheraton, Ritz Carlton and the Autograph Collection. Marriott currently has three-quarters of its rooms in the United States. Starwood, which also owns St. Regis and Aloft hotel brands, gets nearly two-thirds of its revenue from outside the country.The combined company will own or franchise more than 5,500 hotels with 1.1 million rooms worldwide and give Marriott greater presence in markets such as Europe, Latin America and Asia including India and China. Among the Milwaukee hotels under the Starwood umbrella are Aloft Milwaukee Downtown, Four Point by Sheraton Milwaukee North Shore in Brown Deer and Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel. A Westin hotel also has been proposed for downtown. The local Mariott hotels include Milwaukee Marriott Downtown, the Courtyard Milwaukee Downtown, the Courtyard by Marriott Milwaukee Airport, Milwaukee Mariott West in Waukesha, Residence Inn Milwaukee Downtown and others. The merger of two major brands into a goliath will have an impact on Milwaukee’s hospitality market, said Greg Hanis, president of Hospitality Marketers International Inc., which has a New Berlin office. “Starwood and Marriott are two of the larger hotel companies,” he said. “Between the two of them, they have a significant number of rooms, so this would be quite a large merger and it could have a big impact on the hotel industry.” Merging the two companies would create an unmatched competitor in the hotel space, especially in terms of the number of brands they operate, Hanis said. Prices at the hotels operated by the firm may rise as competition decreases in Milwaukee. “The consumer is the one who will ultimately experience the impact of that,” he said. “If they take Westin and make it not as competitive with Marriott, pricing and product strategies will change. What people are getting now at the Westin or the Marriott won’t be as competitive. They can take away amenities, thy can change the pricing structure, and that can have a direct impact on the consumer.” Competitors like The Marcus Corp., which operates The Pfister Hotel, The Intercontinental Milwaukee and the Hilton Milwaukee City Center, will be challenged by the cross-promotional opportunities and frequent traveler perks offered by a major conglomerate like this new firm in the Milwaukee market, Hanis said. “Now (Marcus) has literally a goliath coming in and (Marriott/Starwood) can maneuver the brand, the pricing, etc. in downtown Milwaukee even more so than they did before,” he said. “How do you compete against that horsepower?” Starwood shares fell 5.2 percent to $71.07 in premarket trading on Monday, below the offer price of $72.08, indicating investors were unhappy with the offer being at a 4 percent discount to the stock’s Friday close. Marriott shares fell 1.3 percent to $71.65. “We have been in the business for a long time but Starwood is more global than Marriott is,” Marriott chief executive Arne Sorenson, who will lead the combined company, told CNBC. […]
Nov 16th, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
Transfer Pizzeria Cafe expanding
The owners of Transfer Pizzeria Café have purchased the building next door to the popular Mitchell Street restaurant and are planning to expand sometime next year. Rossetto and his twin brother, John, purchased 107 W. Mitchell St., in July 2014 to explore the possibility of expanding the restaurant’s kitchen and event space. The new building would add 2,179-square feet to the restaurant.Since opening in March 2008, Transfer, 101 W. Mitchell St., has experienced significant growth with 15 percent revenue increases annually and up to two-hour wait times on Saturday nights, said Russell Rossetto, one of the restaurant’s owners. The brothers are also thinking about expanding the restaurant’s delivery service – pizza is currently delivered by bike messenger. If delivery service is expanded, Rossetto is worried dining room wait times will increase if the restaurant is not larger. “Business has been great,” Rossetto said. “We’ve been on an upswing since we opened. Right now we’re just exploring the possibilities.” Transfer’s current space is 3,215-square-feet. The brothers also own 105 W. Mitchell St., which is a rooming house for about 20 people. Rossetto said in the early days of Transfer, the rooming house is what kept the pizzeria afloat.
Nov 16th, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
Chicago developer plans to turn downtown post office into a swan
A Chicago developer has purchased what some consider the ugliest building in Milwaukee, believing he has found a hidden gem. R2 Companies bought the downtown Milwaukee post office complex last month for $13.1 million from a group of private investors. Matt Garrison, managing principal, says the firm is planning to transform the 1.1 million-square-foot sprawling concrete structure at 341 W. St. Paul Ave. into a mixed-use development with retail along the street, a riverwalk and entertainment along the 1,500 feet of frontage on the Menomonee River. The timeline for these plans is contingent on the U.S. Postal Service, which has a lease in place for another four-and-a-half years, plus an option to extend for up to 30 years. But Garrison, whose firm is the latest in a long list of out-of-state firms to make a major commercial real estate investment in southeastern Wisconsin, is steadfast in his long-term commitment to the project. “We’re motivated to make money but also motivated to work on really cool and interesting things,” Garrison said. “With urban planning, if you make a mistake, it can take a half century to fix. We want to do the right thing.” From day one, Garrison has said he wants to keep the existing post office structure, built in 1967, intact. He is working with San Francisco-based architectural firm Gensler on redevelopment plans for the building. “It’s complex, but it’s also incredibly unique,” Garrison said. “A lot of people in Milwaukee might say this building is ugly, but wait until you see our renderings; it’s not going to be ugly. We are going to have so much fun.” One immediate design obstacle will be working around the train tracks that go through the building. Garrison said he would like to work with the city to install a pedestrian bridge that connects St. Paul Avenue to the Harley Davidson Museum to the south. Along St. Paul, Garrison is envisioning various types of retail on the first and second floors – including at least one big-box store – to activate foot traffic along St. Paul and draw people from the Third Ward. There will be parking but it will be hidden, likely on the third floor. The fourth floor will house a single corporate tenant that Garrison is hoping to lure from the suburbs or out-of-state. Along the Menomonee River, the portion of the structure that now houses mail trucks could potentially be used as part of the river walk, Garrison said. Other food, beverage and entertainment outlets are planned for the river side of the building. The existing post office structure is too large for residential, so Garrison is planning to build two towers on the property, on land next to the building, that could include residential, hospitality or office. “I can build another 900,000 square feet of ground-up development,” Garrison said. “There is a blank canvas there, but it will depend on what the market can handle. We have a long-term outlook for this project.” Garrison’s plans are […]
Nov 16th, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
Democrat challenging John Chisholm has uphill battle
Many political insiders believe that, given the right candidate, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm could be defeated in next year’s election. Verona Swanigan is probably not that candidate. Swanigan is a Milwaukee attorney who has announced plans to challenge Chisholm in next year’s Democratic primary. She said she is being helped by Democrats such as former Secretary of State Vel Phillips and Republicans such as operative Craig Peterson. But it was just last year that Swanigan admitted in a sworn affidavit that she bungled a federal case because she was “significantly physically and mentally impaired.” “I, Attorney Verona Swanigan, am the party that suffered from a debilitating illness that impacted my physical and mental capacity,” she wrote in the May 11, 2014, court record, explaining why she failed to respond to a motion for discovery in a case. “The illness directly affected my ability to think clearly and analytically, formulate words, speak fluidly, and concentrate.” Now, only 18 months later, she wants to be elected to oversee an office of 200-plus employees, including the largest team of prosecutors in Wisconsin. Reached last week, Swanigan acknowledged the health issues. She said she had headaches, hand tremors, kidney problems and a heart murmur — symptoms her mother and grandfather experienced before suffering aneurysms. The 38-year-old lawyer took the unusual step last year of submitting her medical records in the court filings to explain why she mishandled the federal lawsuit. On Thursday, however, Swanigan said she is much better. She said she had a benign cyst removed by doctors at the Mayo Clinic in the past year. She’s healthy enough, in fact, that she traveled to Ferguson, Mo., earlier this year to protest police brutality against blacks. She also helped lead a rally defending those protesting the shooting of Dontre Hamilton by a Milwaukee cop at Red Arrow Park last year. “I’m now healthy, and all that’s behind me,” Swanigan said. “I’m fine.” She added that she would be willing to make available a letter from her doctor to any voter concerned about her health. Asked to provide such a letter to the Journal Sentinel, she promised to fax a copy the next day. The paper has yet to receive it. Swanigan said she is running for district attorney because of the lack of policy innovation by Chisholm, the city’s rising crime rate and the low morale in the DA’s office. She opened her campaign account in August. Chisholm, a Democrat, has come under fire from the left and the right on a range of issues, from his office’s long-running John Doe investigations of Republican Gov. Scott Walker to his handling of the Hamilton case and others involving Milwaukee police. Swanigan said community leaders, protesters and preachers have encouraged her to run. “I listen to God, and I listen to my elders,” she said. Her health issues came to light in a 2012 case in which Swanigan represented a 14-year-old female student — and her guardian — against the Mequon-Thiensville School District, […]
Nov 15th, 2015 by Dave Reid
88Nine’s Amelinda Burich
OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: How long have you worked at your job? Amelinda Burich: I’ve been lucky enough to work at my day job since February of this year. I am currently the Digital Content Coordinator at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee. I’ve been “working” for love, not money, in and around the Milwaukee music since I moved here in 2002. I started booking DIY and punk shows, then club shows with friends in the collective Battle Cry MKE, event planning and music PR. I’ve played in bands since I moved here and am always doing my best to promote our awesome music scene outside of the city. My role at 88Nine helps me to do that, as well as sharing local indie music to a wider audience here in Milwaukee that may not be as tuned into our underground talent. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: What season is your favorite in Milwaukee and why? Burich: I am sure this is pretty typical, but I appreciate our variety of seasons – although I whiteknuckle my way through winter every year – and my favorite season is summer. I love our City of Festivals. Fall is gorgeous in Wisconsin, but always elicits a dread in me for the coming winter. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: What’s your favorite or least favorite smell in Milwaukee? Burich: That awkward moment when you’re in a car with a friend from out of town and drive over the Milorganite facility on 794 and your nostrils are filled with manure. That has to be my least favorite Milwaukee odor. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: What’s your hope for Milwaukee? Burich: Hopefully Milwaukee will one day be more collaborative, more inclusive and less segregated. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: What neighborhood do you live in? Burich: Bay View. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: When / how did you fall in love with Milwaukee? Burich: One experience I’ve had with Milwaukee that I haven’t seen in other cities is the ability for grassroots creative groups to get support from like-minded people to start up. DIY spaces and groups like Borg Ward, Cream City Collective, Eagle’s Nest, Riverwest Radio, Bucketworks, etc. It’s easy to start something here. Ideally, they would get enough support to have some longevity. I love seeing the passions of different communities come together to create these ideas and spaces. And we have some damn good coffee and beer. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: Why do you do what you do? Burich: I was lucky to grow up in a musical family, so I don’t remember a time before music was in my life. Besides playing and writing music, I’ve been an avid music listener. Through other people’s music, I’ve learned to feel empathy for all kinds of perspectives, explored new cultures sonically, and just felt understood. I think that’s part of my drive to share all the music I love with other people, in hopes of affecting them, too. OnMilwaukee / Too Much Metal: What’s your […]
Nov 15th, 2015 by Dave Reid
GOP could play Paris attacks in “politically smart” way
You might think that Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., who has a master’s degree in security studies, could lend some insight into Friday’s terrorist attack at Paris cafes, a concert hall and the national stadium that killed at least 127 people. But that wasn’t the case. Instead, Clarke took to Twitter to explain that he believes if Republicans play the Paris attack in a “politically smart” way, they can all but guarantee a victory in next year’s presidential election. He added, “War is politics carried on by other means.” His tweet was “liked” by more than 500 people by Saturday morning. In the past, Clarke has been sharply critical of Democrats who have tried to use mass shootings to push a political agenda, such as gun control legislation. “Shame on the left, shame on the Democrats for once again exploiting misery and tragedy to pursue a political agenda,” Clarke told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in August after a Virginia shooting left a reporter and cameraman dead. “Shame on the president of the United States to invoke terrorism into this horrific incident that happened in Virginia.”
Nov 14th, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
Northridge retail buildings targeted for light industrial space
With the retail area near Milwaukee’s former Northridge Mall continuing to shrink, city officials are recommending a plan to convert empty and underused stores into light industrial buildings. That new proposal could include the former mall, where plans to redevelop it as a wholesale trade mart remain stalled, said city Development Commissioner Rocky Marcoux. Other buildings tentatively targeted for conversion to light industrial use, such as distribution centers or assembly space, include the neighborhood Target store, which is closing in January, he said. The problem of larger empty retail buildings “is not unique to the city of Milwaukee,” Marcoux said. However, converting them to industrial use is an unusual strategy, he said. Most cities want their empty stores to find new tenants, and remain as retail properties, he said. That’s because such buildings are usually assessed at higher values than industrial buildings — generating more property tax revenue for the community, Marcoux said. But, at the former mall and its surrounding commercial district, especially on W. Brown Deer Road, west of N. 76th St., there is little demand for new stores and restaurants, Marcoux said. Also, industrial use tends to provide jobs with higher wages and better benefits than retail jobs, he said. “I think that is the highest and best use for most of that land,” said James T. Barry III, who operates The Barry Co. commercial real estate brokerage, which focuses on industrial properties. The conversion strategy is part of a proposed redevelopment plan for what the city calls the Granville Corridor, the commercial area centered on the former Northridge Mall. That proposed plan, which would be a guide for future land use decisions, will undergo public review before being presented to the Common Council. The plan, based in part on studies by two consulting firms, S.B. Friedman & Co. and Graef USA, notes the steep decline in retail jobs in that area over the past 10 years. Northridge’s last remaining store shut its doors in 2003 after years of eroding sales at the mall. Nearby chain store closings since then include Dunham’s Sports, Value City Furniture, Big Lots, Best Buy, Circuit City, Stein Mart, A.J. Wright, Kids “R” Us and Office Depot. Some of that retail sales decline is tied to increased competition, Marcoux said. When Northridge opened in 1972, it was among the few larger shopping destinations in the trade area that includes Milwaukee’s far northwest side, Brown Deer, Menomonee Falls, Mequon and Grafton, he said. Especially since the early 1990s, several competing shopping areas have opened or expanded, including Costco and several other big box retailers near Grafton’s I-43/Highway 60 interchange, and Bayshore Town Center, in Glendale. Meanwhile, the apartment buildings near Northridge saw an influx during the 1980s of lower-income residents, who took the place of middle-income people with more spending power. The mall also was hurt by not being located near a freeway interchange — unlike Southridge, Mayfair, Bayshore Town Center and Brookfield Square — and by fears of crime, both real and […]
Nov 14th, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
Are There Really Anti-Semitic Messages Hidden in a Shorewood Sculpture?
UPDATE #2: What in the actual fuck they’re taking it down and changing it. Mary Louise Schumacher has more. UPDATE #1: Mary Louise Schumacher has a response to the “controversy” from two gallery owners speaking on Jaume Plensa’s behalf. If you’ve paid a visit to Shorewood’s Atwater Park in the past few years, you’ve surely seen “Spillover II,” an 8-foot-tall sculpture of random steel letters in the shape of a human body peering out over Lake Michigan. Created by renowned Spanish artist Jaume Plensa (he of the interactive Crown Fountain in Chicago’s Millennium Park), the sculpture is no stranger to controversy. Village of Shorewood residents protested the privately gifted public art piece in 2009, claiming it would be a safety hazard and an eyesore; when the sculpture was finally installed in 2010, Journal Sentinel art critic Mary Louise Schumacher blasted its ugly concrete base and poor placement. Now, a New Jersey photographer by the name of Matt Sweetwood is claiming there are—get ready for this—anti-Semitic messages hidden in the sculpture’s seemingly haphazard jumble of letters. Buckle up, “Bible Code” and seeing-the-Virgin-Mary-in-a-piece-of-toast aficionados. This one’s right up your alley! According to Sweetwood’s post on his personal site (“Hateful Sculpture in Milwaukee (Shorewood) Wisconsin Needs to be Scrapped”) and a blog called Good Men Project (“How I Discovered Hate in Plain Sight on a Popular Sculpture”), the photographer was recently in town visiting his daughter for her birthday. During a trip to Atwater Park with his son-in-law, Sweetwood began snapping pictures of Plensa’s “Spillover II.” It was then that, after a mere 30 seconds of studying the sculpture, Sweetwood noticed “the letters on the northern side were not random at all.” Here are the three “hateful phrases” he found in the letters: “Cheap Jew” “Fry Bad Jew” “Dead Jew” (Click here for Sweetwood’s photo of those alleged phrases, “highlighted for clarity.”) Sweetwood was “disgusted,” and has since sent a letter to the Village of Shorewood demanding the removal of the sculpture. “As a Jew from New Jersey, I prefer this kind of hate said directly to me,” he writes. “But this artist is a coward, so he sculpts his hate and runs away.” So, are there anti-Semitic phrases hidden in “Spillover II”? Or, more likely, is the whole thing indeed one of those “Bible Code” deals where you can take a bunch of random letters and find shit like “DALLAS 1963 MOTORCADE” and “TOWERS FALL BUSH”? I paid a visit to Atwater Park this morning to find out. I wasn’t alone. When I arrived at 8 a.m. there was already a middle-aged man and an elderly woman inspecting the sculpture. Soon, a 30-something man joined us. After a few moments, we found the section in question: Here it is again, “highlighted for clarity”: So, yeah, if you’re inspecting the sculpture with the express purpose of finding “Fry Bad Jew” or “Cheap Jew,” it’s not that hard. The middle-aged man, who informed me he was Jewish, seemed convinced. “I think we deserve an explanation,” he said. The elderly woman wasn’t impressed, and spent her time finding other words in the […]
Nov 13th, 2015 by Dave Reid
East side apartment building to be upgraded after sale
A smaller, older apartment building on Milwaukee’s east will be renovated and upgraded after its recent sale, according to one of the new owners. The two-story, 20-unit building, at 1639 N. Farwell Ave., was sold for $1.1 million to 1639 Farwell LLC, according to state real estate records posted Friday. The property was sold by Daniel Pauli. The new owner is an investment group led by Geoff Stone and Eric Seegers, who operate Gato City LLC property management firm. Gato City operates 420 apartments, mostly on the east side and in the Riverwest neighborhood, Stone said. The new group plans to install new appliances, make some repairs and upgrade the building’s facade, Stone said. “We want to erase the ’60s feel,” he said. Gato City rents a lot of its apartments to University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee students. Some of the Farwell Ave. building’s upgraded units will likely be marketed to students, Stone said. But some also will be aimed at young professionals who are increasingly attracted to urban apartments, he said. Gato City also operates two apartments buildings in Bay View, as well as the Historic Mitchell Building, at 601-615 W. Historic Mitchell St. The Historic Preservation Commission recently approved plans to convert part of the Historic Mitchell Building‘s street-level retail space into five residential units. The building, a former theater, now has 36 apartments.
Nov 13th, 2015 by Jeramey Jannene
Connecture names Jeff Surges as new CEO
Connecture, Inc., a Brookfield-based provider of web information for health insurance marketplaces, announced Jeff Surges as its new CEO as it reports 5 percent revenue growth in the third quarter. Surges joins Connecture after serving as chairman of Strategic Health Services and president of Healthgrades. “Jeff brings the right mix of health care information technology entrepreneurship, public company CEO experience and strong leadership qualities to our company, our customers and our employees,” the company’s outgoing CEO, Doug Schneider, said in a press release. Connecture said it wants to establish new leadership as it looks to advance to the next stage of growth to capture a larger market. Surges will officially step into his role next week. During the coming months, Surges and Schneider will work closely to establish strategies that will plan for growth and better serve the company’s customers, the company said. Schneider will continue to serve as president and chief product officer and retain his seat on the company’s board of directors. The company’s third-quarter results show total revenue at $22.7 million, an increase of 5.4 percent from the 2014 third quarter. Notable customers added in the quarter include USAA; Anthem; Towers; Meridian Health Plan, a physician owned and operated health plan in the Midwest; and additional new Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans.
Nov 13th, 2015 by Dave Reid
A People on the Move spotlight
Lucas Struve has been promoted to the position of vice president/general manager of interior landscaping firm, Interiorscapes Inc., Milwaukee. He answered a few questions for the Milwaukee Business Journal. Hometown: Sioux Rapids, Iowa Education: Bachelor’s in horticulture and a minor in entrepreneurial studies from Iowa State University What attracted you to this new opportunity:“After working for Interiorscapes for more than 10 years, I am extremely invested in the company’s success. I have learned a tremendous amount during my time with the company, and look forward to continuing to challenge myself and our staff, provide great products and services, and grow our company.” Thoughts on your position:“Excited for the challenges of learning a new aspect of the business and continuing to grow my skill sets.” First job: Mowing lawns Career advice:“You will only get as much out of your career as you put into it.” Personal hero:“My wife. She has taught me to face adversity head on.” Last book read:“‘Pete the Cat’ (with my daughter)” Person you would most like to meet: Chef Jiro Ono Family: Wife, Megan; and two daughters, Ella and Lilah Favorite vacation spot:“Anywhere with a beach” Most meaningful accomplishment:“Maintaining a work/life balance in a two-working parent household.” Favorite film:“Christmas Vacation” Favorite Milwaukee restaurant:“I like trying new restaurants. With the influx of restaurant openings in Milwaukee, it’s too hard to pick one.” Likes about Milwaukee:“Coming from a small town, I love that Milwaukee has the benefits of a large city, but you still have a sense of community.” What you most like doing in your free time:“Spending time with family, cooking, biking”
Nov 13th, 2015 by Bach Chamber Choir
Marcus Hotels & Resorts taps new managers for Milwaukee Hilton, other properties
Marcus Hotels & Resorts has named a new general manager for the Hilton Milwaukee City Center as the company shifts the general managers at four of its national hotels to different locations. Mahesh Reddy takes control of the Hilton Milwaukee as Jim Waldvogel departs for the Hilton Minneapolis/Bloomington hotel and Crowne Plaza Minneapolis Northstar Downtown. Waldvogel returns to Minneapolis, where he had previously managed both hotels. Mahesh has held leadership roles at the Hilton Milwaukee for six years, and most recently comes from the Platinum Hotel & Spa in Las Vegas. The company also moved Chris Zarek from managing the Hilton Minneapolis/Bloomington to the new AC Hotel Chicago Downtown. And Mary Orlando, who was managing the AC Hotel Chicago, has been named general manager of the Platinum Hotel & Spa in Las Vegas. “This is an exciting time for Marcus Hotels & Resorts and we are confident these leaders will make significant contributions to the company, their hotels and the communities in which they serve,” said Joseph Khairallah, chief operating officer for Marcus Hotels & Resorts. Marcus Hotels & Resorts is a division of Milwaukee-based The Marcus Corp. (NYSE: MCS), which owns or manages 19 hotels around the country.
Nov 12th, 2015 by Dave Reid
