Milwaukee Bucks plan for Deer District Moxy Hotel faces Council delay

As the former Bradley Center site is slowly transformed at the corner of Vel R. Phillips Drive and State Street, the Milwaukee Bucks, who own the property, want to build a moderate tier 156 room Moxy Hotel on the southern edge of Deer District. The project was up for a vote Tuesday before the Milwaukee Common Council’s Zoning, Neighborhood and Development Committee.”We view every new development, like the Moxy, not as a standalone project but as part of our larger mission to lift the city’s trajectory,” Milwaukee Bucks President Peter Feigin said Tuesday, during a presentation at the meeting.In planning for more than a year, the project has run into some controversy because the developer and operator NCG Hospitality has been embroiled in a labor dispute at the nearby Trade Hotel. Opponents and supporters say the dispute, that’s resulted in complaints to the National Labor Relations Board, is impacting the approval of this new project.”We did not hear any objections to the size of this project until the first part of this year,” said Milwaukee Bucks attorney Bruce Block. “And that stunned us, to be honest. Because we thought we had a deal that made sense, that everybody heard about, knew about, appreciated and supported,” Block said. That objection led to the committee chairman Alderman Robert Bauman to delay a vote on the project. “I think we need to hold this,” Bauman told other committee members. “I don’t know how we can intelligently vote with these legal issues hanging fire. They’re basically accusing us of bad faith, and what follows from that as far as exposure and any litigation that could arise.”The committee decided to delay a vote on the project to allow them to consult with city attorneys about whether they can still legally reject the project at this stage. “The delay is very disappointing,” NCG Hospitality Chief Development Officer Andy Inman said following the meeting. “But we’re excited about Milwaukee, we’re excited about the project, it’s a fantastic project for the Deer District, it’s a great project for the City of Milwaukee, and we’ll see what the next step is.” The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for May 28. The agenda is not yet set.

MILWAUKEE —

As the former Bradley Center site is slowly transformed at the corner of Vel R. Phillips Drive and State Street, the Milwaukee Bucks, who own the property, want to build a moderate tier 156 room Moxy Hotel on the southern edge of Deer District.

The project was up for a vote Tuesday before the Milwaukee Common Council’s Zoning, Neighborhood and Development Committee.

“We view every new development, like the Moxy, not as a standalone project but as part of our larger mission to lift the city’s trajectory,” Milwaukee Bucks President Peter Feigin said Tuesday, during a presentation at the meeting.

In planning for more than a year, the project has run into some controversy because the developer and operator NCG Hospitality has been embroiled in a labor dispute at the nearby Trade Hotel. Opponents and supporters say the dispute, that’s resulted in complaints to the National Labor Relations Board, is impacting the approval of this new project.

“We did not hear any objections to the size of this project until the first part of this year,” said Milwaukee Bucks attorney Bruce Block. “And that stunned us, to be honest. Because we thought we had a deal that made sense, that everybody heard about, knew about, appreciated and supported,” Block said.

That objection led to the committee chairman Alderman Robert Bauman to delay a vote on the project.

“I think we need to hold this,” Bauman told other committee members. “I don’t know how we can intelligently vote with these legal issues hanging fire. They’re basically accusing us of bad faith, and what follows from that as far as exposure and any litigation that could arise.”

The committee decided to delay a vote on the project to allow them to consult with city attorneys about whether they can still legally reject the project at this stage.

“The delay is very disappointing,” NCG Hospitality Chief Development Officer Andy Inman said following the meeting. “But we’re excited about Milwaukee, we’re excited about the project, it’s a fantastic project for the Deer District, it’s a great project for the City of Milwaukee, and we’ll see what the next step is.”

The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for May 28. The agenda is not yet set.