Milwaukee, WI

Downtown Milwaukee Hampton Inn now fully reopen ahead of busy summer

Published

2 years ago

April 15, 2024

Downtown Milwaukee Hampton Inn now fully reopen ahead of busy summer

The Hampton Inn & Suites hotel in downtown Milwaukee’s Westown neighborhood is back up and running, following its closure last year last year in the face of financial challenges.

In February, the 138-room hotel at 176 W. Wisconsin Ave. quietly began reopening in phases; as of last week, all of its rooms are available for booking, said Tiffany Avgoulas, the hotel’s new general manager.

The hotel shut down in May 2023 and was later acquired by its lender in a deed in lieu of foreclosure action. Then, in October, the property was purchased for $6 million by an affiliate of Lisle, Illinois-based E.M.A. Hospitality, the hotel’s new operator.

Over the past few months, all rooms have gotten a “full refresh,” including a deep cleaning and polishing as well as new TVs, linens and mattresses. New carpeting was recently installed in the hotel’s lobby area, said Avgoulas.

In addition, E.M.A. Hospitality hired an entirely new team for the hotel, now fully staffed at 24 employees. Avgoulas was brought on in December as director of fails — a position that oversees a property’s turnaround and reopening — and was promoted to GM just a couple weeks ago. She said the hiring effort has presented its challenges, but “we’re getting there slowly but surely.”

Capturing demand

With summer’s peak season right around the corner, the Hampton Inn is well-positioned to benefit from the influx of visitors expected from numerous large-scale events in coming months, including the 2024 Republican National Convention, which has the entire property booked during its July 15-18 run. Outside of that, the hotel is sold out from roughly mid-June through August, said Avgoulas.

“We have such a prime location, it’s great that we’re able to be this successful this early on (in the reopening),” she said.

Prior to its closure last year, the Hampton Inn’s sixth-floor ballroom was a popular spot for weddings and other events; it was previously operated by Clai Green, who owns two other event venues in the city. Currently, the space remains closed but the plan is to remodel and reopen it for event rentals sometime in the future, said Avgoulas, although the timeline is yet to be determined.

“We’re just focusing on our guests and the rooms and getting all of that fully squared away,” she added.

Troubling trend

The Hampton Inn & Suites is one of a few hotels in the city that have experienced financial difficulties in the past year — a sign of the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and following interest rate hikes on the hospitality industry.

Most recently, the Milwaukee Marriott Downtown at 625 N. Milwaukee St. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to restructure debt obligations.

In September, the 102-room Iron Horse Hotel in Walker’s Point was sent to auction to resolve its Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In December, the hotel reached a deal with its lender to resolve its Chapter 11 bankruptcy and foreclosure.

In July, a foreclosure lawsuit was filed by Atlanta-based hospitality lender Access Point Financial LLC against the owner of the Cambria Hotel in downtown Milwaukee, an affiliate of Chicago-based Murphy Development Group. A $17.5 million foreclosure judgement was entered in November. In January, the hotel was acquired by its lender in a transaction valued at $11.1 million.

Hotel industry analysts like Greg Hanis have warned of this trend for months.

The Federal Reserve’s moves to raise interest rates to combat inflation have put pressure on hotel operators. Before the pandemic, many hoteliers signed five- to seven-year commercial loans with interest rates closer to 3%; those rates have risen to 8% or even 10%, Hanis told BizTimes last year.

“When you start adding on five, six, seven points of interest to a $10 million loan, it is a big hit,” Hanis said in August.

And even though summer 2024 is expected to bring visitors and tourism spending in numbers unlike anything this city has seen before, there could be more hotel foreclosures on the horizon.

“There are hotels right now that are operating, they’re doing fine, but they have this cloud in the background,” Hanis added.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee daycare van stolen with kids inside; 27-year-old woman accused

Published

12 hours ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Milwaukee daycare van stolen with kids inside; 27-year-old woman accused

article

MILWAUKEE – A 27-year-old Milwaukee woman is accused of stealing a running daycare van that had four young children inside. The accused is Katelyn Librizzi – and she faces the following criminal counts:

Operating a motor vehicle without owner’s consent
Abduction of a child

Case details

What we know:

According to the criminal complaint, a Milwaukee police detective responded around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 16 to an abduction investigation near Appleton and Burleigh. A 911 call came from the owner of a daycare center indicating that a woman “jumped into her van and pulled off with her children inside,” the complaint says. That second person was later identified as Katelyn Librizzi, the defendant.

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A short time later, Milwaukee police conducted a high-risk traffic stop. The defendant was the driver and was arrested. The complaint says four young children were seated inside the van.

When police spoke with the daycare owner, she said she called 911 from the daycare because her personal cellphone was in the van that had been stolen.

Inside the recovered van, police found medical documents listed to the defendant, the complaint says. Investigators also used the daycare owner’s cellphone to get geolocation data, which showed the van’s path.

On Dec. 17, a detective interviewed the defendant who “indicated she had mental health issues,” the complaint says. The detective also reported Librizzi “was making statements and comments that are not typically mentioned in interviews,” the complaint says. Librizzi also told police “she had been driving and saw little kids in the back of the vehicle. The defendant also reported that the police pulled her over. She reported that the can had been running in front of a daycare,” the complaint says.

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What’s next:

Librizzi appeared in Milwaukee County court on Sunday, Dec. 21. Cash bond was set at $10,000. The court also ordered Librizzi to undergo a competency examination.

The Source: Information in this post was provided by Wisconsin Circuit Court Access and the criminal complaint associated with this case.

Crime and Public SafetyMilwaukeeNews

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Milwaukee, WI

South Milwaukee students spread holiday cheer at assisted living facility

Published

24 hours ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

South Milwaukee students spread holiday cheer

Students from Zion Lutheran School surprised residents at a South Milwaukee assisted living facility with gifts, treats and songs, continuing their annual Giving Tree holiday tradition.

SOUTH MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Residents at an assisted living facility in South Milwaukee received an early dose of Christmas cheer as students and families from Zion Lutheran School delivered gifts, treats and songs as part of the school’s annual Giving Tree program.

What we know:

During the season of giving, students from the school joined family members and church volunteers to surprise residents at Franciscan Villa, filling wagons with presents and handing them out throughout the facility. The Giving Tree is a long-running holiday tradition for the school, built around gift donations for different groups each year, including veterans and families in need.

“It was just fun and happy,” said Ellen Rogers, a student volunteer.

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Rogers spent her Sunday morning alongside friends and family, sharing moments with seniors who staff say don’t always have the opportunity to see loved ones during the holidays.

What they’re saying:

“As a Christian it shows living our faith and being able to give to others especially during this time,” said Neil Schliewe, Zion Lutheran School principal. “With a facility like this having people that maybe their family is far away, maybe their family isn’t able to visit or maybe they’ve lost touch with family.”

Schliewe said the impact of the visit was immediately visible, with some residents moved to tears.

“We saw literally residents crying tears of joy because of not being able to experience that family time during this period of their lives and so being able to have kids from our school and our church, be able to come and do that it’s incredibly special,” Schliewe said.

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What’s next:

After the gift-giving wrapped up, students and staff shared one final surprise, singing Christmas songs together with residents. School leaders say planning for next year’s Giving Tree will begin on Thanksgiving.

The Source: The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.

Heartwarming NewsSouth MilwaukeeHolidaysNews

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Milwaukee, WI

Fatal Milwaukee shooting early Sunday, 1 dead on city’s northwest side

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

Fatal Milwaukee shooting early Sunday, 1 dead on city’s northwest side

article

Milwaukee Police Department (MPD)

MILWAUKEE – One person was killed in a shooting in Milwaukee early Sunday morning, Dec. 21.

According to the Milwaukee Police Department, at about 3:50 a.m., a 24-year-old was shot in the area of 96th and Beatrice, which is off of Brown Deer Road.

Their shooting victim died at the scene.

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MPD tips

What you can do:

Police are looking for those responsible.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Milwaukee police at 414-935-7360 or, to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-TIPS or use the P3 Tips app.

The Source: The Milwaukee Police Department sent FOX6 the information.

Crime and Public SafetyNewsMilwaukee

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