UW Oshkosh\u2019s and the UW Oshkosh Foundation\u2019s roles as community catalysts<\/a>,\u201d said UW Oshkosh Chancellor Richard Wells. \u201cNot only can our Foundation help directly enhance job growth and conferencing business downtown and on campus, but it can additionally use this project to help generate some revenue to support homegrown high school graduates\u2019 pursuit of college degrees and new academic programs. This project is a testament to collaboration, featuring two incredibly entrepreneurial nonprofit foundations, two stellar local hoteliers and city leaders and citizen stakeholders working hard to revitalize their community.\u201d<\/p>\nBatley and Pfefferle join the partnership having helped establish two distinguished and successful Fox Valley hotel businesses. Batley is an owner and operating partner in both Neenah\u2019s BEST WESTERN PREMIER Bridgewood Resort Hotel and Conference Center and in downtown Appleton\u2019s CopperLeaf Boutique Hotel and Spa. Pfefferle is the managing partner in the CopperLeaf.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look forward to working with our partners to breathe new life and enhance business at Oshkosh\u2019s downtown, waterfront hotel,\u201d Batley said. \u201cThis revitalization will be of great benefit to the connected Oshkosh Convention Center, nearby UW Oshkosh and the greater community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur H. Rathjen, president of the UW Oshkosh Foundation, thanked Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce President and CEO John Casper, who helped connect the two foundations with Batley and Pfefferle. Previous hotelier partner WHG Companies, LLC, amicably opted to pursue other business opportunities last fall when a first proposed hotel purchase agreement could not be reached.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also thank Nashco Hospitality for their patience and cooperation in helping this second, successful purchase agreement come together,\u201d UW Oshkosh Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services Tom Sonnleitner said.<\/p>\n
The UW Oshkosh Foundation, a separate nonprofit organization supportive of UW Oshkosh, abandoned its consideration of a brand new hotel construction project attached to the planned campus Alumni Welcome and Conference Center when the concept of the renovated, full-service downtown hotel just a couple of blocks away emerged. While dramatically enhancing the use of the downtown convention center, the renovated hotel will also support guests participating in UW Oshkosh\u2019s current and future campus-based academic conferences and events, including those in the future Alumni Welcome and Conference Center<\/p>\n
No state or tuition dollars are involved in the hotel project\u2019s financing. The UW Oshkosh Foundation in collaboration with its private sector partners will oversee and manage the investment in this project. That is in keeping with the nonprofit Foundation\u2019s mission to support and enhance the academic mission of UW Oshkosh.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe remain optimistic that a renovated, full-service convention hotel will enhance our community, serve area businesses, support scholarships and internships and complement our plans for the new Alumni Welcome Center \u2014 located two blocks from the downtown property,\u201d Rathjen said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdditionally, this renovation project will solve our community\u2019s need for another attractive, conference-hosting hotel that supports the efforts of the Oshkosh Convention & Visitors Bureau to showcase Wisconsin\u2019s Event City,\u201d he said. \u201cWith quality, established, local partners like Rich Batley and John Pfefferle, we are confident we will, together, deliver a first-class facility. We truly appreciate how much this project means to the residents of Oshkosh, and the University and University Foundation are proud to be a part of an endeavor revitalizing and enhancing our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hotel\u2019s new owners are currently regrouping private investors while refining business plans and renovation timelines. They will again request project financial assistance from the City of Oshkosh in the form of tax-incremental financing (TIF) to support the hotel renovation.<\/p>\n
The Oshkosh Common Council agreed to withdraw consideration of the partners\u2019 original TIF proposal last fall after unanticipated renovation costs and the inability to reach a mutually-agreed upon purchase price stalled the project. This year, the city plans to continue construction on public river walk along the Fox River from Main Street to Jackson Street, past the hotel property.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hope was always that this local partnership\u2019s hotel renovation proposal might reemerge,\u201d Oshkosh City Manager Mark Rohloff said. \u201cWe are eager to again work with the partners and bring their exciting proposal back for the consideration and support of the Oshkosh Common Council and the Joint Review Board.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last fall, project partners had proposed renaming the hotel the \u201cAthearn Waterfront Hotel \u2013 UW Oshkosh\u201d as an homage to the former Hotel Athearn that was nestled in the city\u2019s downtown for decades. While they remain supportive of establishing a tribute to the Athearn within the property, through the incorporation of historical photographs and displays, they are dedicated to keeping all options available on the hotel\u2019s final naming, including potential incorporation of a franchise\u2019s flag.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Oshkosh\u2019s City Center Hotel is under new ownership, and the local partnership holding the keys is reenergizing revitalization plans. The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Foundation and local hoteliers Richard Batley of RB Hospitality in Neenah and John Pfefferle of Pfefferle Companies, Inc. in Appleton announced their new ownership of the hotel, finalized Feb. 14. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":2673,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","institution":[94],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-84","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-oshkosh"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/84","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=84"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=84"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}