Airport hotel heads to auction, another could reopen soon » Urban Milwaukee

5311 S. Howell Ave. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

One of the best and largest hotels near Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport will hit the auction block next week.

The Four Points by Sheraton, 5311 S. Howell Ave., is being sold through the Ten-X online auction service. Bidding starts at $3 million on August 26.

The property, part of the Marriott International hotel brand, includes 178 rooms spread over three floors. The 5.6-acre property also includes 284 parking spaces, conference space and an indoor pool.

The building was built in 1962. The hotel was last renovated in 2004, according to the listing. It is right opposite the airport and visible from the airport highway.

It was branded as the Clarion Hotel until 2018. The Cork ‘n Cleaver restaurant is located in the building.

According to city property records, it was purchased in 2015 by SSS Milwaukee, LLC, an affiliated investment group based in Illinois. Bimal Doshifor $7.75 million.

The property is currently valued at $7.98 million.

The hotel is listed for sale with brokers Marcus & Millichap Ebrahim Valliani and Michael Klar.

The Best Western Plus, 5105 S. Howell Ave., is also owned by an affiliate of Doshi and listed for sale with Marcus & Millichap, but on a bid-for-bid basis. The city most recently assessed the property for $7.4 million. An affiliate of Doshi acquired it for $7.9 million in 2017.

Doshi, according to online reports, owns several other hotels in other states.

Both hotels continue to operate while listed for sale.

The former Wyndham is slated to reopen as Clarion Pointe

A long-closed Motel 6 will soon see new life as a Clarion Pointe property.

Visible signage and activity at the site indicate that a long-awaited revival of the hotel, 5037 S. Howell Ave. it could be close.

According to a city’s vacant buildings registry, Motel 6 closed in 2016. A number of building code violations were levied against the property in previous years.

Manvee Hospitality Holdings has owned the property since 2017, paying $1.4 million to acquire it. It is currently valued at $2.8 million.

Substantial rehabilitation work has been carried out on the structure. A portico and new lobby entrance replaced an outdoor pool fronting S. Howell Avenue. A number of other improvements have been made to the basic structure.

Signs at the site, placed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, indicated that it was initially to reopen as a Baymont by Wyndham-branded property. But that never came to pass.

The most recent signage would signal the property as part of the Choice Hotels family. The chain, which relies on private operators, has more than 7,500 hotels.

The 117-room hotel was built in 1972, according to city assessments. It sits on a 2.1 acre lot.

Also for sale in the neighborhood

At least two other notable properties near the airport are on the market.

Airport Atrium Center, a three-story office building located at 5007 S. Howell Ave., is for sale for $8.88 million.

The 60,000-square-foot building is reported to be 92 percent leased. It sits on a 3.14 acre lot with 275 parking spaces.

The tenants, based on a large sign in front of the building, are primarily a mix of medical and aviation businesses.

It was last sold in 2016 to Howell Avenue Partners, LLC for $2.1 million. According to state records, the firm is affiliated Sanjay Azad and his firm Corporate Services LLC, an accounting practice that has its office in the building.

The shuttered Clarion Inn, 6331 S. 13th St., is for sale for $5.99 million. In the past decade, the hotel has also been branded as a Radisson and Days Inn & Suites. The property is valued at $4.49 million.

A property listing says it has 152 rooms. The city assessment says it was built in 1967. The listing mentions a 2021 rehab. It is owned by a related entity Hardeep Arora of Neenah.

Urban Milwaukee reported in early 2023 that the hotel was slated to reopen that same year. But that didn’t happen. The Department of Neighborhood Services flagged it as a candidate for condemnation in April 2024, noting fire damage and that the property was not secured. Those concerns, according to city records, have been allayed.

In 2023, Cafe 94 Indian Fusion opened in an outdoor space of the hotel as planned.