The city received four proposals for Judge Doyle Square, the two-block area off the Capitol Square that includes the Municipal Building and an aging parking ramp.
All the developers propose hotels smaller than a consultant recommended to maximize business at the adjacent Monona Terrace convention center.
In a December 2012 report (which has been criticized as being unrealistic), C.H. Johnson Consulting said: "If a new headquarters hotel were to accommodate 400 peak rooms in its single property, its size needs to be 500 rooms and we suggest the city work hard to attract a hotel as large as this if possible, using the 400-room size as the minimum size acceptable."
JDS Development, LLC, a joint venture of Madison's Hammes Company and Majestic Realty of Los Angeles, proposes a 250-room hotel. Austin's Journeyman Group and its partners propose a 352-room Marriott. North Central Group of Middleton proposes two hotels with a combined 325 rooms. Mortenson Development of Minneapolis does not specify a hotel size, but promises to work with the city. The proposals also include various housing, retail and office components.
The Judge Doyle Square project has several goals, some that are controversial (the hotel) and others that are unavoidable. The city wants to replace the Government East parking ramp at Pinckney and Doty streets, which is badly deteriorated, with an underground structure that would have 520 to 600 stalls.
Mayor Paul Soglin is pleased with the number of proposals. He says the hotel "is paramount. The whole concept was driven by the fact that we need the hotel rooms near Monona Terrace. If a proposal is to work, it has to have a solid hotel."
