The long vacant former Zahn’s Department store building in downtown Racine will soon be seeing a lot more activity than it has more than 40 years, when the 80-room Hotel Verdant opens this summer following months of renovations.
In a press release, Milwaukee-based developer Dominion Properties, and its partners on the project – consultant Grey Hospitality and hotel management firm Charlestowne Hotels – announced that the hotel is slated to open this summer.
Located at 500 Main St. on Monument Square, the hotel will be comprised of the original 49,992-square foot, four-story Zahn’s building, and a 26,660-square foot addition. About 45 guest rooms – a mix of queen, king, and junior and presidential suites – will be located in the original Zahn’s building, with 35 rooms located in a four-story addition.
The hotel will also feature a first-floor restaurant dubbed Café Marguerite, which will feature an evolving menu of breakfast, lunch, and dinner options, including brick-oven pizza, as well as a rooftop bar and restaurant. Called Eave, it will offer indoor and outdoor seating for 200, and views of Lake Michigan.
The development will also include a meeting/banquet space capable of hosting events up to 200 people and fitness center. Bicycles will also be on hand for guests to explore Racine.
As a perk for art lovers, about 200 works of original local art will hang in guest rooms and public spaces throughout the hotel – the result of a partnership Dominion Properties struck with Racine Art Museum (RAM).
Dominion worked with Kubala Washatko Architects (TKWA), The Gettys Group (TGG), and Sustainable Building Solutions, and Sustainablu to help design the hotel. C.G. Schmidt is the general contractor on the project.
