With a hotel ready to break ground this fall, the Milwaukee Bucks are planning out their next two Deer District developments: A large commercial building and more apartments.
Bucks president Peter Feigin said the team will put up a building with 250,000 square feet of commercial space on the same block as a
previously announced 205-room boutique hotel. Those buildings are being developed north of Fiserv Forum, at the northwest corner of West Juneau and North Vel R. Phillips avenues in downtown Milwaukee.
Feigin said the team is also planning a few hundred residential units on the vacant lot next door, northwest of West Juneau Avenue and North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
The Bucks are pursuing these projects on "parallel paths," he said.
What's more, a parking structure could be built between the hotel and commercial building. The hotel project team
revealed at a recent public hearing that the structure is the long-term plan for hotel guest parking.
These projects represent the next steps in the Bucks' plans for the Deer District, which is to create a place for people to work, live and gather for events.
"For us, it's literally the pieces of living and working, and how do we populate the neighborhood," Feigin said.
His comments came on Thursday morning during a virtual event on sports and real estate, hosted by Marquette University.
Mike Belot, senior vice president of Bucks Ventures and development, said the Bucks began searching for a development partner on the apartment project last fall. He said the team hopes to share more details in a couple of months.
"Now's a great time to build, now's a great time to differentiate yourself (and) bring forth the newest and best product to Milwaukee," he said.
Feigin said the hotel is to break ground around September. He said it will be a vital component of the Deer District as it continue to builds up its events and attractions.
"We think that as we build this up, and as we build events, there will be need for real hotel nights," he said. "And kind of with this next stage of hotels, it's more than a hotel. … It's as much a hotel as it is a restaurant, as it is a bar, as it is a cool place."
Belot said more announcements are to come on the hotel, such as its name, design and food and beverage offerings.
The largest remaining parcel in the Deer District is the site of the former Bradley Center, which is south of Fiserv Forum. Belot said that will likely be the last piece developed in the district, in part because it does not lie inside an Opportunity Zone like the other parcels. Even so, there has already been interest from developers, he added.
