14-story hotel addition proposed for Masonic Center in downtown Milwaukee

A 14-story glass tower could be built atop the Humphrey Scottish Rite Masonic Center in downtown Milwaukee to create a 220-room hotel under plans developers submitted to the city this week.

The project would restore the existing Masonic Center building at 790 N. Van Buren St., adding restaurants and meeting venues, while building the vertical addition with new hotel rooms. Madison developer Ascendant Holdings LLC is proposing the project, and Provenance Hotels in Portland would run the independent hotel.

Eric Nordeen, principal at Ascendant Holdings, said that if the project gains city approvals in the coming months, the hotel could open in late 2018 at the earliest.

“It’s a real design challenge,” he said of the project to add a modern addition while still respecting, and referencing the original building.

The 14-story hotel addition would be stepped back from Van Buren Street, standing over the three-story building’s existing building’s southern end. It would have a footprint of 7,000 square feet.

The tower design includes a more than one-story void, with nothing but structural columns, elevator shafts and stairwells, between the Masonic Center roof and the tower, Nordeen said. Kraig Kalashian Architecture & Design of New Jersey and Metro Studio of New Orleans are architects on the project.

“The intent was to step it back as much as we could and still get the floor plate we need,” he said.

Nordeen said the base of the Masonic Center building would be restored for meeting space, restaurants and possibly hotel rooms. The rooftop of the building would become an amenity with food and beverage offerings, he said.

“It’ll be a well-designed, outdoor living space,” he said.

The lower floors would become commons areas of the hotel, additional restaurants, ballrooms and meeting spaces, Nordeen said. A 350-seat auditorium in the Masonic Center will be preserved as a flex venue for business meetings, concerts or movies. The center’s top floor could have some guest rooms, he said.

Nordeen said the interior’s historic woodwork, plaster and other elements will be preserved as the space gets an interior redesign.

“We plan to go a long way to restore and protect a lot of that architectural detail that is inside the building,” Nordeen said.

The center was built in 1889, with an extensive remodel in 1936 by the Scottish Rite organization. The interior comprises a large auditorium and several other large ceremonial and meeting rooms. The Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Valley of Milwaukee organization is trying to sell the building because its membership is declining, making it difficult to keep up with the cost of owning the building.

Provenance Hotels would run the food and beverage operations, and is unlikely to lease the restaurants out to a third-party operator, Nordeen said. However, in line with the company’s business model, Provenance will seek local talent for input to give the operation a local flavor, he said.

“They’re going to find Milwaukee people that know how to create experiences and either partner with them or hire them,” Nordeen said.

There are no plans for on-site parking to serve the hotel, Nordeen said, but it will offer valet service.

Ascendant Holdings this week first released details of its project plan, but the hotel development concept first surfaced in May 2016. At the time, the building was on the market for sale and the Milwaukee Preservation Alliance had filed a request for the city to give it historic preservation protections. Milwaukee aldermen in May put their review of that request on hold because Ascendant Holdings was studying the building for its project, and there was no imminent threat of demolition.

Nordeen said that he intends to seek that city historic designation for the Masonic Center. But first, Ascendant Holdings is asking Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission to approve the hotel development plan. The first meeting to consider to project could be next month.

Nordeen said he cannot seek the historic designation until he buys the property, and wants to get a city sign-off on the project plan before until he buys the property.

“We intend to do a project that assumes the building becomes a locally designated landmark under Milwaukee’s landmark ordinance,” Nordeen said.

The hotel is the second collaboration between Ascendant Holdings and Provenance Hotels in Portland. The other project is on State Street in downtown Madison. Provenance has a collection of hotels in its home market of Portland, and in Seattle, Nashville and New Orleans. Ascendant has been active in the downtown Milwaukee market since its 2011 purchase of the 15-story Wells Building office property at East Wisconsin Avenue and North Milwaukee Street.

Reported by:  Milwaukee Business Journal