The owners of the 1898 Ferry & Clas-designed Koeffler double house at 817-19 N. Marshall St. have announced that the boutique hotel they plan to create there will be called Dubbel Dutch.
The 17-room hotel is slated to open by May and will be available for block booking during the 2020 Democratic National Convention, according to Juli Kaufmann of Fix Development, who is partnering on the project with Andy Braatz of Braatz Building and Patrick R. Jones of Ramsey Jones Architects.
You can find a detailed history of the two side-by-side homes and photographs of the interiors in this Urban Spelunking story I wrote in October.
"We’ve gathered an outstanding team of individuals to transform this property into an incredibly special property, answering a need for hotel rooms in Milwaukee’s downtown neighborhood," said Kaufmann in a statement on Tuesday.
"The property will pay homage to the architects of the past and a nod to the design of today with a historic-meets-modern vibe," Jones added.
The team has tapped Milwaukee-based Forti to design the hotel’s interiors and build bespoke furniture.
"Signature details of the Forti brand will be incorporated into the pieces we’re designing for this incredible historic building," said Forti's Sharon Kevil.
The owners are seeking a House Manager to run all facets of the property and experienced candidates can email info@thedubbeldutch.com.
Anyone interested in renting the entire hotel for six nights during the DNC can inquire at the same email address.
Stay tuned for more information on Dubbel Dutch as it becomes available.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He can be heard weekly on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories.
