WEDC investment to help fund construction of four-story, waterfront hotel

MADISON, WI. June 20, 2019 – The City of Two Rivers is receiving a $250,000 state grant to help finance the construction of a new downtown hotel.

The Community Development Investment Grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) will support the construction of a Cobblestone Hotel & Suites, a 55-room, four-story hotel located near the waterfront in downtown Two Rivers.

“A vibrant downtown is vital to a community’s overall economic success, and the new Cobblestone Hotel & Suites will play a key role in bringing more visitors to downtown Two Rivers to enjoy the many amenities the city has to offer,” said Tricia Braun, deputy secretary and COO of WEDC, the state’s lead economic development organization. “This project is another example of the many ways in which WEDC works with communities throughout Wisconsin to enhance their business districts and in doing so, add to their quality of life.”

The hotel will be in the heart of the historic downtown area with access to area restaurants, bars and retail shops, as well as bike and pedestrian trails. Because of its location on the waterfront, the hotel is just a few blocks from popular beaches and several marinas that offer charter fishing on Lake Michigan.

“It is hard to overstate the significance of this project to Two Rivers’ downtown and waterfront redevelopment efforts,” said Greg Buckley, city manager of Two Rivers. “The new Cobblestone Hotel will significantly benefit other downtown businesses with added customer traffic. This project has been driven by area investors who see good things happening in downtown Two Rivers and represents a milestone in our ongoing efforts to redevelop a downtown waterfront once dominated by obsolete industrial facilities.”

Two Rivers Hotel Group LLC is undertaking the project under the leadership of Rick Carey, president of the Metal Ware Corporation, a manufacturing firm that was founded in 1920 in Two Rivers. The new hotel will be part of the Cobblestone Hotel & Suites franchise, a growing, Wisconsin-based lodging chain.

“Two Rivers is a historical manufacturing focused community that has lost much of that identity in the past 20 years,” said Rick Carey of Two Rivers Hotel Group LLC. “Investing in downtown redevelopment will result in a healthier mix of local economics through increased tourism and the new Cobblestone Hotel overlooking Lake Michigan will be a catalyst for achieving that goal. This development would not have been possible without the investment by the State of Wisconsin and the City of Two Rivers.”

The $6.3 million project is anticipated to create 10 new jobs. Construction will begin in summer 2019, with an expected open date of May 2020.

WEDC’s Community Development Investment Grant Program supports community development and redevelopment efforts, primarily in downtown areas. The matching grants are awarded based on the ability of applicants to demonstrate the economic impact of the proposed project, including public and private partnership development, financial need and use of sustainable downtown development practices.

Since the program’s inception in 2013, WEDC has awarded more than $24 million in Community Development Investment Grants to 101 communities for projects expected to generate more than $500 million in capital investments statewide.