Employees at the Edgewater Hotel will be forced to find alternate jobs starting Nov. 19 when developers begin to move forward with renovations.
The renovation project involves workers tearing down all ballroom and restaurant space in the hotel, making it impossible for the hotel to stay open and function during construction, according to Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2.
“We are moving into the stage now where shovels are going into the ground and it is going to be a lengthy construction process,” Maniaci said.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said developers will host a groundbreaking ceremony over the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s homecoming weekend on Oct. 26.
The Edgewater Hotel will close in mid-November, according to Verveer, after many years of Madison’s city Council deliberating how the project would be funded.
The project is now completely privately funded and will receive no public funding from city hall, according to Verveer.
“It’s a long tortured history,” Verveer said. “But the bottom line is...it’s moving forward and [the project] is hoping to break ground this year.”
While the $98 million downtown hotel development project will create 700 construction jobs, between 60 and 70 hotel employees will lose wages and benefits, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
While Edgewater employees will be displaced, Maniaci said she has “talked extensively with developers about the importance of getting [Edgewater] employees placed with employment options as soon as possible.”
—Taylor Harvey and Abbey Becker
