July 10–A proposal to convert Glendale’s Milwaukee River Hilton into housing, a dining hall and other facilities for Chinese students attending Milwaukee-area high schools and universities is facing opposition from city officials.
The city Plan Commission is recommending the Common Council reject a proposed rezoning of the site, at 4700 N. Port Washington Road. The proposal is scheduled for an Aug. 26 council hearing.
Commission members are not opposed to the concept, said City Administrator Richard Maslowski. But they don’t want to lose the hotel, which typically generates around $245,000 in annual hotel room taxes, he said Wednesday. The commission’s 5-1 vote came at its Tuesday night meeting.
Wisconsin International Academy Inc. would operate the facility, housing up to 324 students. Additional space, including the hotel’s Anchorage restaurant, would be used for dining, classrooms and offices.
The for-profit academy this past school year hosted about 50 students who attended Dominican High School in Whitefish Bay, Martin Luther High School in Greendale and Pius XI High School in Milwaukee. They were housed on a secured floor at Glendale’s Baymont Inn & Suites, 5485 N. Port Washington Road.
The 162-room Hilton would provide more rooms, and could eventually include students from China and other foreign countries who attend Milwaukee-area universities. In the 2013-’14 school year, the academy plans to host 120 students, including some attending Catholic Memorial High School in Waukesha and St. Thomas More High School in St. Francis.
There’s strong demand from Chinese families who want to send their students to private schools in the Milwaukee area to prepare them for attending U.S. universities, said Matt Gibson, academy principal. A family sending a Chinese student to attend Milwaukee-area high schools will pay about $30,000 annually, including room and board.
But the Hilton has been Glendale’s most successful hotel, Maslowski said. He said the city’s master plan calls for the site to remain a destination hotel, including serving two nearby business parks: Estabrook Corporate Park and Glendale Technology Center.
Among the opponents to the proposed conversion were local residents who have used the hotel for weddings and other events, as well as Glendale businesses that have visiting customers who stay at the Hilton, Maslowski said.
The Hilton’s majority owner, the estate of Houston developer Jim Grisebaum, is offering a one-time payment of $477,000 to the city to help make up for the loss of room tax revenue, according to city records. That payment would be made once the hotel is sold to the academy .
Barry Chaet, an attorney for the estate, said Hilton Corp. will not be renewing its franchise at the hotel when it expires in April. Chaet told commission members that Grisebaum’s estate doesn’t want to operate the Hilton, and said the hotel could shut down.
The academy’s proposal is a “wonderful opportunity” for Glendale, Chaet said Wednesday.
“We’re disappointed in the vote,” Chaet said. “They love the Hilton. We love the Hilton. But, all good things come to an end.”
Gibson said there’s a growing realization that the hotel’s future is uncertain, which could strengthen the appeal of the academy’s proposal. He said academy officials, including Executive Vice President and minority owner Jian Sun, remain optimistic about their chances of winning council approval.
Meanwhile, the academy is expanding at the Baymont Inn to handle the growing number of students, Gibson said.
According to city records, Wisconsin International Academy’s majority owner is Cermax Corp., which operates a similar branch in the Boston area. Cermax is affiliated with the China Education and Research Network, which is a branch of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.
