MILWAUKEE — Soon visitors at the new hotel being built in the Deer District will hear the roar of the crowd - but for now, it's the rumble of a busy construction site that fills the air.
TMJ4's Charles Benson talked with Bucks President Peter Feigin about how the hotel fits the team's vision for downtown Milwaukee.
Feigin: "We want to continue to build out the district to really be like, fulfilled as a neighborhood. That's not just around events at Fiserv Forum but really fuels itself 24/7, 365."
Benson: "To improve and enhance the downtown area?"
Feigin: "Right, how is this Milwaukee's living room?"
Benson: "You like that term."
Feigin: "I love, I love it!"
He also loves the name.
Marriott's unique 207-room hotel will be called The Trade, a nod to the city's skilled labor force.
"The Trade really pays homage to the history of Milwaukee, and the trades that built this country, not just the City of Milwaukee," said Feigin.
The hotel also pays tribute to Milwaukee's past and present with Solomon Lounge and Terrace - named after Milwaukee's co-founder and first mayor, Solomon Juneau - and an Italian restaurant with a spectacular rooftop balcony named Il Cervo, meaning deer in Italian, a reference to Deer District.
Samantha Sullivan tells TMJ4 the hotel isn't just a place to eat and sleep, but a chance to embrace Milwaukee. She is the Director of Sales for The Trade Hotel.
Benson: "So much of the building is positioned to see the city - to look out on the city. Why did you come up with that concept?"
Sullivan: "That concept really is to showcase the city. Where a forest once stood, a city now stands. We really want to attribute all of that to how things, again, are made but also how amazing the City of Milwaukee is."
The Bucks' Michael Belot says the hotel has its sights set on marketing to sports teams with some well-thought-out design plans. He is the Senior Vice President of Bucks Venture and Development.
"It was designed with the thought of trying to attract NBA teams, Major League Baseball teams, visiting market teams," said Belot. "You see higher ceilings, you see bigger beds, higher showerheads, every little detail from also their arrival process, where the buses are going to be staged, how they're going to enter the hotel to make it extremely convenient."
Feigin sees the hotel as another win for the community and Deer District.
"We haven't strayed really from our arena model of like, how do we involve the community? How do we make sure that there are opportunities for the underemployed and the non-employed to get here," Feigin said. "It's part of our deal down to the construction with the trades."
The hotel's grand opening is set for May 15. Online reservations should be available in late July.
