Observers passing by Camp Randall in the last few weeks may have noticed construction on the four-story hotel across Monroe Street has come to a halt.
“All the city knows is that the contractor is off the project until next Tuesday, and we’re hoping construction will resume then,” Ald. Julia Kerr, District 13, said.
Tim Parks, who works for the Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development, said the exterior of the building has been completed for the most part.
However, construction on the site has come to a stop. In an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal, developer and architect Bob Sieger said construction was halted due to product delays. However, Parks says they’ve been left in the dark.
“We haven’t been told why construction has been stopped and we don’t care to speculate as to the reasons why,” Parks said.
The proposal for the hotel was introduced in late 2006. Bob Sieger of Sieger Architecture had plans for a seven-story condominium and retail project by Camp Randall in the southeast corner of Monroe and Regent streets.
“The approval of the development project and demolition of the buildings that were on site took quite a while to pass. Sieger’s proposal had to go through two or three proposals that didn’t get approved,” said Brad Murphy, member of the City of Madison Plan Commission.
Sieger revised his initial plan to build a five-story hotel with 48 rooms and approached the planning commission board with his proposal, which was denied in 2007. Sieger finally got approval on a four-story hotel with 48 rooms on May 8, 2008. The hotel will cover 20,000 square feet and also includes a restaurant.
The estimated final cost for the project is $5 million.
In the letter of intent sent to Sieger Architecture from the Plan Commission, work on the hotel was anticipated to begin in summer 2008 and the project was to be completed by summer 2009.
The traffic report included in the letter of intent said the redevelopment should generate less traffic than the existing site due to the trip generation reduction on both Regent Street and Oakland Street.
Sieger did not return several phone calls as of press time.
