Boutique hotel slated for historic Warehouse District building

The Warehouse District is about to get a second full service hotel in the historic Jackson Building on Washington Avenue. Now this hotel is not just going to be any run of the mill hotel, it's going to be something really iconic and something that really becomes a statement for the Warehouse District. And let's be honest, that's how it should be for the iconic neighborhood that has been waiting years for another hotel.

The project is being spearheaded by Tim Dixon who is a Milwaukee developer that's behind the iconic Iron Horse Hotel near Milwaukee's historic Third Ward neighborhood. If you've never heard of the Iron Horse hotel we don't really blame you as we really hadn't either until this development popped up. Just how great is the Iron Horse Hotel? Well, let's just start off by saying that it was named the top hotel in the country in 2011 and second, well, we'll just let some pictures do the explaining.

Above: Iron Horse Hotel near Milwaukee's historic Third Ward. (Photo from Iron Horse Hotel website)

Above: Interior lobby within Iron Horse Hotel

What the Iron Horse Hotel is is a 100 year old warehouse that was converted into 100 loft style hotel rooms. The style of the structure is heavily designed to resemble early 20th century America and features exposed brick and timber throughout the entire structure along with stunning views of Milwaukee. The hotel features a full service restaurant and bar called Smyth and is owned and operated by Aparium Hotel group.

Above: An example of a room within the Iron Horse Hotel. Each room is unique in its set up and features.

Aparium Hotel Group is partnering with Equus Development to develop this new hotel within Minneapolis... but this isn't the only hotel they're developing. Based off the success of the Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee they've also partnered to open two more hotels in the country. The Hotel Covington will open in Covington, Kentucky next year and The Charmant Hotel will open in Lacrosse, WI this fall. We'd like to think they know what they're doing.

Above: Aparium Hotel Groups hopes to turn the historic Jackson Building in a 120 room boutique hotel.

The Jackson Building, located a 300 Washington Ave North, was constructed in 1897 and has almost 100,000 square feet of spread spread out on five levels. Tim Dixon with Aparium Hotel Group plans to convert the space into 120 hotel rooms with a full service restaurant on the ground floor along with other premium hotel amenities.

"It's the perfect space for a hotel" Dixon explained. He's been in Minneapolis quite a bit lately trying to figure out what exactly the path for this new hotel will be. That's one thing really excites us about this new building. It won't just be another cookie cutter hotel under a national brand. It'll be something that really is developed out of the history the building and something quite unique to the area. The developers are looking to the building in order to develop the theme and ultimately the name for this new hotel project. The building itself will tell the story of its past and from that story a hotel concept will be developed creating a truly one of a kind hotel project within what we like to think is a one of a kind city.

Above: Current state of the Jackson Building

Above: Rich detail on the exterior structure.

Above: Unique window structures for unique rooms.

The restaurant on the first floor will be almost 6,000 square feet and will be a destination restaurant run by Suzy Crofton, a head chef from Chicago who was behind the well known restaurant Crofton on Wells. Dixon went on to explain that the restaurant will be designed to capture the feel of the community and draw the locals inward. It won't be a restaurant filled with just hotel guests. They wanted to ensure that when guest within the hotel asked the question of "where do they locals go" that they would be able to simply reply with "right here."

Construction could start as soon as this fall if everything is approved by the planning comission and is expected to take a little over a year. Check back for more news on Aparium Hotel Group's new and exciting project in Minneapolis' historic Warehouse District.

Just a side note. This one might be on the top of the list for our favorite projects for 2014/2015.