Two Rivers is receiving a state grant in the amount of $250-thousand dollars to help in the development of a new downtown hotel. City Manager Greg Buckley tells Seehafer News the Community Development Investment Grant from WEDC will support the construction of a Cobblestone Hotel & Suites. Buckley adds “it’s the final piece of financing for the $6.3-million dollar project” which the City and Two Rivers Hotel Group LLC have been working on for over a year. The city manager calls the 55-room, four-story hotel a “very critical part of downtown redevelopment” which will be located on the former Suettinger Hardware block, overlooking the harbor.
Along with the quarter of a million dollar state grant announced yesterday, Buckley details other parts of the investment package. The grant is “in addition to a commitment the City has made for $750,000,” Buckley told us. There was also $1.5 million funding from the Hotel Group, $5.3 million from private investors, and $3.8 comes from financing through Community First Credit Union.
Rick Carey of Two Rivers Hotel Group LLC says, “Two Rivers is a historical manufacturing focused community that has lost much of that identity in the past 20-years. He added, “Investing in the downtown redevelopment will result in a healthier mix of local economics.” The Cobblestone franchise, headquartered in the Fox Valley, is a growing Wisconsin hotel chain. The new business is expected to create 10-new jobs. Construction will begin this summer, with an expected opening date of May 2020. Buckley points out it’s the first new lodging development in the lakeshore area in 20-years or more.
