Much like snowy Midwestern winters make way for spring’s bloom, the Milwaukee area has recently resurfaced, fresh with group-friendly amenities that will captivate both new and returning attendees.
Updated hotels, intriguing attractions and team-bonding activities are all on deck for those lucky groups planning on convening here in 2014 and beyond.
Milwaukee
“Milwaukee offers a variety of meeting space, affordability, nightlife and natural beauty, all with an urban-easy feel, making the destination just what meeting planners are looking for—fresh, interesting and fun,” says Brent Foerster, vice president, sales and marketing at Visit Milwaukee.
Groups that haven’t visited Milwaukee in a few years, he adds, are certain to notice several revitalization efforts that have graced the city’s landscape.
According to Foerster, the transformation of the Historic Third Ward, a turn-of-the-century warehouse and manufacturing district, is a must-visit for groups.
The six-square-block area, which has been compared to New York’s popular SoHo neighborhood, is home to the city’s highest concentration of art galleries, including Art Upstairs and Blue Ant galleries, a bundle of specialty stores, including Hoarder’s World and Bangles & Bags, a good mix of theaters and a growing restaurant and nightlife scene.
The district is also home to the Milwaukee Public Market, a year-round marketplace where groups will find Wisconsin products including homemade candies and artisan cheeses. Here, interested groups can also arrange a team-building cooking activity in the market’s demonstration kitchen.
Excitement over the Third Ward’s evolution should last for years to come, as new developments will continue to brighten the district’s horizon, including the scheduled 2015 arrival of an eight-story boutique Kimpton hotel on the corner of Broadway and East Chicago streets.
In other news, the 75-acre Henry Maier Festival Park, located along the Lake Michigan shore and home of Summerfest, one of the largest music festivals in the world, recently added the new $13 million BMO Harris Pavilion.
Foerster adds that two covered pavilions and five VIP decks are available for large company parties and events during festival dates, which will add excitement to any meeting itinerary.
Groups might also notice a change in Milwaukee’s Menomonee River Valley.PageBreak
Once the center of heavy industry in the city, the valley has been converted to mixed use and natural green areas featuring more than 1 million square feet of green buildings and seven miles of pristine riverside trails, including the Hank Aaron State Trail.
Menomonee River Valley is also the site of the Harley-Davidson Museum and Potawatomi Bingo Casino, which is on track to welcome a new hotel. The 381-room Potawatomi Bingo Casino Hotel broke ground in mid-2012 and is scheduled to feature a restaurant and full-service spa when it opens this summer.
Also joining the city’s already impressive lineup of group venues, including the Wisconsin Center and hotels such as the The Pfister, Hilton Milwaukee City Center, Hyatt Regency Milwaukee and InterContinental Milwaukee, are three new hotels that preserved several of the city’s architectural gems.
The 128-room Hilton Garden Inn Milwaukee Downtown opened in 2012 in the Loyalty Building, an 1886 National Historic Landmark with a soaring inner atrium, a restaurant and bar, and on-site meeting space. The Grain Exchange Room, a knockout ballroom with 75-foot ceilings in the historic Mackie Building across the street, is also used for group events.
The 90-room Brewhouse Inn & Suites opened downtown in April. Milwaukee’s beer heritage is reflected in the conversion of two former Pabst Brewery complex buildings and the interior design incorporates original elements of the building, including a large stained-glass window picturing legendary beer icon King Gambrinus, original copper brewing kettles, winding wrought-iron staircases and a large skylight in the atrium mezzanine area.
Meanwhile, last June, the 205-room Milwaukee Marriott Downtown merged preserved 19th century buildings and new construction in a package that includes 9,000 square feet of meeting space, an on-site restaurant featuring a menu of Wisconsin artisan meats, cheeses and craft beer, and a lobby with a book-lined library.
After the meeting, attendees might enjoy an outing via Untapped Tours, a popular new option that began operations last year and touts itself as Milwaukee’s most complete tour for intimate groups to take in all the city’s unique sights; or Milwaukee Food Tours, which weaves attendees through the city’s ethnic neighborhoods. Among the foodie paths are the Bay View neighborhood-based Bloodies and Beers Tour and the Old World 3rd Street Tour.PageBreak
Brookfield
There are also some changes occurring in Brookfield, a meetings destination that focuses on small to midsize groups that are interested in urban amenities at suburban prices, according to Nancy Justman, president/CEO at Visit Brookfield.
“We have several hotels undergoing renovations that we are excited to show to potential clients,” she says. Among the updated properties here are Country Inn & Suites Milwaukee West, which completed a renovation in late 2012 encompassing guest rooms, meeting space and common areas; Best Western Plus Midway Hotel & Suites Brookfield, which recently unveiled newly renovated guest rooms; and Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel, which is undergoing a major renovation that at press time was scheduled for completion by this spring, including new guest rooms, common areas and meeting space.
When the business portion of the meeting has concluded, Justman says groups might like outings to nearby Milwaukee attractions, including the Milwaukee County Zoo, or to stay put for a show at Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, indoor rock climbing at Adventure Rock or a shopping expedition to some of the 250 retailers here.
“Our village area is adding new businesses, including a brew pub and other retailers,” Justman adds.
Waukesha and Pewaukee
The area that includes Waukesha and Pewaukee sports flexible facilities to accommodate any size of event, a convenient location, a value-minded approach and “after‐hours intangibles,” including dining, entertainment, shopping and recreational activities, according to Tiffany Zamora, spokeswoman for the Waukesha Pewaukee CVB.
Additionally, quality accommodations ensure groups a comfortable stay.
Popular area properties include Country Springs Hotel & Water Park Conference Center, Holiday Inn Pewaukee-Milwaukee West, Wildwood Lodge Lake Country and Milwaukee Marriott West, which recently finished updates to its 281 guest rooms and will continue renovations through 2014 to include upgrades to all public spaces.
Area off-site venues for group gatherings include Taylor’s People’s Park, a Civil War-era building centrally located within historic downtown Waukesha. Recently, the venue transformed its rooftop to an airy urban space for smaller groups to enjoy networking while taking in views of the historic buildings lining the streets.
Fun options to schedule after the meeting include hitting the links at the 18-hole Erin Hills, site of the 2017 U.S. Open, having a tournament at the Cue Club of Wisconsin pool hall or taking a Les Paul walking tour to celebrate the iconic late guitarist and native Wisconsinite’s roots.
