Travelers hostel proposed for historic building in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood

A historic Riverwest building would be converted into a travelers hostel under a new proposal from a developer who's done other Milwaukee central city projects.

The two-story building, 500 E. Center St., would be remodeled into Cream City Hostel, with 41 bunk beds in dorm-style rooms, according to the proposal from Juli Kaufmann and Carolyn Weber.

That site is at the northeast corner of E. Center and N. Holton streets, on the border between the Riverwest and Harambee neighborhoods.

Cream City Hostel would "elevate the Riverwest and Harambee neighborhoods as tourist destinations, delivering a unique traveler experience not currently available in the Milwaukee market, (and) bring visitors that will support local neighborhood businesses and improving the local economy," according to a Department of City Development report.

Hostels usually target college-age people and other young travelers who want a cheap place to stay. The bedrooms are typically shared with other guests and do not have private bathrooms.

There is demand for a hostel in Milwaukee, which doesn't have one, Kaufmann said Tuesday.

The Riverwest and Harambee neighborhoods have their own attractions, such as restaurants, night clubs and breweries, she said.

And Cream City Hostel also would be on Milwaukee County Transit System bus lines and relatively close to downtown.

RiverBee LLC, led by Kaufmann and Weber, is seeking a purchase option for the city-owned building.

If approved by the Common Council, RiverBee would pay $150,000 for the 8,000-square-foot building, according to the department report. The group's investment in the development would total around $1 million, Kaufmann said.

Kaufmann operates Fix Development LLC.

Her other projects include the Clock Shadow Building, which opened in 2012 at 130 W. Bruce St.; The Tandem restaurant, which opened in 2016 at 1848 W. Fond du Lac Ave.; and the current conversion of a former BMO Harris Bank, 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave., into the Sherman Phoenix small business hub.

Weber lives in Riverwest and co-owns Coast In Bikes, in Walker's Point. She and Kaufmann initially discussed operating a hostel in connection with Coast In Bikes but didn't proceed with that project.

Cream City Hostel would include community rooms, bathrooms, kitchen, laundry, secured bike storage and information services, according to the department report.

Kaufmann and Weber also plan to provide community space, gallery space for local artists, summer food truck space and a large outdoor gathering space for events open to Cream City Hostel guests and the public.

RiverBee is using conventional financing and will seek crowd funded investors, including neighborhood residents. The hostel is expected to open by the end of the year, Kaufmann said.

The building was constructed in 1927 as Holton State Bank. It was remodeled in the 1990s for a Milwaukee Public Schools Head Start program. It has been vacant since 2005.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com, and followed on Twitter and Facebook.