May 25–On a sun-splashed morning, developer Robert Dunn stands atop the new Edgewater hotel, an army of construction workers shaping the roughly $100 million redevelopment into final luxurious form in preparation for a grand opening later this summer.
The 15th-story rooftop space on the new building, called Sky Bar, with commanding views of Lake Mendota and the State Capitol, is among an array of public and private spaces that should drop jaws and offerings that sometimes will lighten wallets.
“It’s going to have a significant impact on our ability to promote Madison as a destination,” Dunn said as he surveyed the lake during a hard-hatted tour of the most controversial and elegant hotel project in the city’s history.
Dunn and an investment group are restoring the art moderne style of the original hotel, opened in 1948, removing part of a 1970s addition and setting a public terrace atop it overlooking the lake, creating a grand staircase to the water and building a stylish nine-story tower — 15 stories if measured from the waterfront.
But a simple project description does injustice to what’s unfolding at the corner of Langdon Street and Wisconsin Avenue.
“This is probably the handsomest building that’s been built in Downtown Madison in many, many years,” said attorney, landlord and neighborhood activist Fred Mohs, who was the project’s sharpest and most persistent critic over fear it would be out of scale with the Mansion Hill Historic District. “I think it will join the ranks of great hotels and it will be a contributor to the neighborhood and I hope the neighborhood will be a contributor to it.”
Inside, the new Edgewater offers 202 rooms from presidential suites with panoramic views to units on lower floors of the 1970s building with enlarged windows so close to the water they invite casting bait. The hotel will also have four condominiums, bars, restaurants, terraces and amenities from spas to a circular swimming pool. Throughout, it will celebrate Madison.
“Everywhere we stopped, there was a different view, a different way of viewing this amazing city and beautiful Downtown,” said Downtown Madison Inc. President Susan Schmitz, who recently took a tour.
The public entrance to the new Wisconsin Building opens to a small cafe and curving hall leading to the Signature Lounge and Statehouse Restaurant with seating for 200, views to the lake, an open kitchen and outdoor dining for 66 overlooking the water.
“Overnight, it will be an immediate sensation,” Dunn predicted.
Behind the bar is a grand spiral staircase leading down to a pre-function area called The Nolen Gallery and the Grand Ballroom with floor-to-ceiling windows and outdoor terrace. The Nolen gallery and ballrooms outdoor terrace connects to the centerpiece public terrace between the new and landmark buildings. The 6,150-square-foot Grand Ballroom is connected by elevator to Sky Bar, which looks down 55 feet to the original tower and may be opened to the public at certain times.
The main public terrace will host events in the summer and a skating rink in the winter, and connects to an indoor area called the Ice House, a rathskeller-style space with modest-priced food, beverages, skate rentals and other offerings.
An outdoor staircase separates the public terrace from the 1940s structure, now called the Langdon Building, and reopens views to the landmark lost when the 1970s addition was built as it leads to the water. The staircase also connects directly to the spa, fitness club, offices and other attractions in the landmark so local customers can access them without having to navigate through the whole hotel.
The Langdon Building, almost a boutique hotel within the larger project, will have completely remade guest rooms, some with kitchenettes and others featuring original, porthole-style windows.
On the first two floors of the Langdon Building, Dunn has remade the old Rigadoon Room bar into a two-story, 2,600-square-foot bar and restaurant called The Boathouse with a nautical theme and its own menu. On the lakeshore, he is seeking state permission for a 170-foot permanent dock with temporary extensions for docking boats in the summer and where he hopes to clear the ice for pond hockey in the winter. The Langdon Building will be topped by the 2,800-square-foot Red Crown Club, offering more space for receptions and gatherings and a terrace.
New and original parking garages, while connected, offer separate places to park for hotel guests and the public.
“There’s such a variety of places for people to go,” Schmitz said. “It offers something for everyone.”
Dunn said, “In time, that’s going to be the key to our success.”
