An 11-story hotel with about 130 rooms is being proposed for a site just off East Brady Street − the first such development for Milwaukee's east side.

It would be constructed at 1709-1723 N. Farwell Ave. by developers Michael Klein and Jeno Cataldo.

Details about the hotel, including its brand name, are still being worked out, Klein told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Klein, president of Klein Development Inc., said he hopes to begin construction by the end of 2023 "if all goes well."

"Brady Street is the coolest street in town and we want to make it cooler," said Cataldo, whose neighborhood businesses include Dorsia, an Italian restaurant at 1307 E. Brady St.

The 18,200-square-foot project site, just north of East Brady Street, is now home to the Farwell Point building that houses Mega Media Xchange, a gaming store. That two-story building would be razed.

The property was sold in August for $1.5 million to 1709 Farwell Propco LLC, Klein's investment group, according to state real estate records.

The group is seeking a zoning change at the site to accommodate the proposed hotel, according to a new filing with the Department of City Development. That zoning change would need Common Council approval.

Ald. Jonathan Brostoff, whose district includes the site, called the hotel proposal a "very exciting" idea that would help provide a day-time business for Brady Street.

"Of course we'll have opportunities for public input and hear what folks have to say," Brostoff said, "but I'm very supportive of the idea of a hotel at the entrance of Brady Street."

A neighborhood meeting to discuss the proposal is set for 6 p.m. Jan. 23 at Dorsia, Brostoff said.

Those plans come as hotel developments are underway in downtown Milwaukee with the travel industry rebounding from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Trade Hotel MKE, a 207-room Marriott Autograph Hotel, will open at 420 W. Juneau Ave., just north of Fiserv Forum this spring. The nine-story hotel, which will be operated by Madison-based North Central Group LLC, will include Italian restaurant Il Cervo on its rooftop.

Also,  HKS Holdings LLC's plans for an eight-story, 161-room Tempo by Hilton, 308 W. Kilbourn Ave., are proceeding, with that project undergoing its initial design review by the Historic Preservation Commission on Monday. HKS Holdings includes Joe Klein, Michael Klein's brother, among its owners.

The hotel at Brady and Farwell would be the first on Milwaukee's east side, a densely populated area that includes such demand drivers as University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee and the Brady Street nightlife area.

It also would be a short walk to the lakefront via the Brady Street stairs, Cataldo said.

The hotel "allows people to enjoy and experience Brady Street," he said.

"Brady Street is a dynamic neighborhood but it's also a destination," Cataldo said.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. 

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 11-story Brady Street hotel would a first for Milwaukee's east side