After a contentious few years of seeing no progress as a result of funding arguments, The Edgewater Hotel will begin major reconstruction this November.

Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said he believes the reconstruction of the hotel will serve as a major investment for the city.

For two mayoral terms, the redevelopment has been the center of a major city government controversy. 

The hotel’s construction will feature the removal of the tower on Wisconsin Avenue, and a public plaza with an ice skating rink and other communal areas will take its place. He added the 1920s section of the hotel will be remodeled, and the hotel will construct a new tower located near the lake. Ten new condominiums are also set to be built adjacent to the hotel.

Ald. Mark Clear, District 19, said the hotel plans to re-open with its new remodels in early 2014.

Clear added he is “thrilled” the project is finally moving forward.

“It’s going to be a huge improvement to a historic and very iconic property in Madison,” Clear said. “It’s going to be a great boost for our local hospitality industry, and I think it will become one of the most important buildings for the city, as it was when it was originally built.”

The reconstruction is at least a $100 million investment, Resnick said, consisting of money that will be provided through a few different funding sources, including private means. The investment will also be comprised largely of bonds and will receive approximately $66 million from a state bond.

Resnick said the reconstruction of The Edgewater Hotel will be positive for the city, though Madison has refrained from funding any part of it.

“I’m glad the developer was able to make these decisions without the use of city resources,” Resnick said. “We have a very tight budget, and the developer was very confident in the project itself and was able to find funding from elsewhere, so I think it’ll be a strong investment to the downtown.”

According to Resnick, funding for the hotel was not reauthorized in Mayor Paul Soglin’s first budget. Although The Edgewater restaurant and other elements of the hotel have remained in operation over the last several years, the redevelopment project was put on hold until the hotel could recover the lost funds on its own without help from the city.

Clear said the city funding was pulled from the hotel in November 2011, causing many to believe the project was dead. Development planners asked the city to provide $16 million to the hotel in their 2012 budget, a proposal that ultimately failed.

The city’s process to determine whether to provide funding for the hotel in 2011 divided City Council members. Despite a close vote, the committee authorized the termination of its funding.

Soglin said City Council will not be involved in the revamping process of the hotel, and the plans will go through the planning department to determine whether the financing is in place and if the design reaches its original standards.

Soglin noted he felt the city allocating $16 million to the project was unnecessary. He also emphasized his distress that one of the elements of the design of the reconstruction would allow the hotel to take control of the street end at the foot of Wisconsin Avenue.

“I just disagree about giving private bodies so much control of a public space,” Soglin said.