Madison’s 48-room, four-story, Hotel Red which closed in March of 2020 is planned to be converted into a 50-unit apartment complex by real estate management company Steve Brown Apartments.
Hotel Red, located near Camp Randall, was shut down in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic according to Cap Times.
The building’s owner, Mike Erikson, planned to renovate the building following its closure in march of 2020, with plans to reopen in fall of 2021, but construction never officially began according to Cap Times. Erikson put the building up for sale in spring of 2021.
Steve Brown Apartments — a real-estate management company that owns 57 properties in the Madison area — went to Madison’s Planning Commission with a proposal to convert Hotel Red into a mixed-use apartment complex. The Planning Commission unanimously passed this proposal on Monday, Oct. 17.
The mixed-use complex will have 50 apartment units, one floor of commercial space and a total of 59 parking spaces. The first floor will consist of approximately 3,000 square feet of commercial space along with a separate residential lobby.
Hotel rooms will be converted into apartment units through transforming the existing kitchenettes into more residential kitchens.
Margret Watson, the executive officer of Steve Brown Apartments, has stated her hope that the new building will be able to provide additional affordable housing options for Madison residents.
“This will be workforce housing, in a beautiful neighborhood, right downtown on the bus line and we really want to help Madison get out of this housing crisis,” Watson said
Watson also has stated that the project will use sustainable practices and will be a critical source of housing in the Madison community. Watson hopes to get the remodel started as soon as possible and expects that the project will be done by spring of 2022.
