The 119-year-old Charles A. Koeffler, Jr. House in Milwaukee’s East Town neighborhood could be converted to a 20-room boutique hotel under a new proposal.
Each suite in the proposed Art House Hotel will include a fully-stocked kitchen and living room said Dale Stenbroten, who is working on the project with his wife, Katy Rowe.
The couple are planning to purchase the Koeffler house, 817-19 North Marshall St., in mid-December from Boulder, Colorado-based C.J. Taxman Interests Inc.
“We’ve been developing this concept for about four years now and practicing with Airbnb at some of our residential properties,” Stenbroten said. “We think we’ve found the right spot and the right size to do this.”
Stenbroten and Rowe have been working with Milwaukee developer Juli Kaufmann of Fix Development to get the project off the ground. Kaufmann won’t have an ownership stake in the hotel.
The two-and-a-half story Koeffler House was built in 1898 by Ferry & Clas in English Renaissance Revival Style.
Nearly all existent historic features, including paneling, doors, trim and moulding, stairs, mantels and surrounds, mirrors and cabinets are intended to be retained during the hotel conversion, according to documents submitted to the city of Milwaukee’s Historic Preservation Commission, which will likely review the proposal at its December meeting.
Still, the building will be renovated to reflect an upscale, contemporary and hip boutique hotel, Stenbroten said.
“We want to create a different concept,” Stenbroten said. ““We want to create a place where people can rent an entire apartment, as opposed to just a room and tie it in with an Airbnb concept. We think it is an experience people are hungry for.”
