Renovating a Historic Hotel

Tickets for this lecture plus two other lectures are included in Spaces & Traces tour tickets – click here to buy full package. 

Juli Kaufmann of Fix Development and architect Patrick Jones of Ramsey Jones Architects who co-developed the historic Dubbel Dutch hotel will share their renovation efforts to convert this 1898 duplex into a boutique hotel. This lecture is part of Historic Milwaukee’s 40th annual Spaces & Traces program, offering tours on May 7.

You can also tour the Dubbel Dutch hotel in person as part of the May 7 Spaces & Traces!

Saved from the wrecking ball in 1985 by the City of the Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission, this 1898 English Renaissance Revival Style gem by noted architects Ferry and Clas sat underutilized, then abandoned altogether when brought to the attention of the new owners. Encouraged by what they saw working on the building for previous clients, the three combined their complementary skill sets to create the Dubbel Dutch. Juli Kaufmann of Fix Development, Patrick R. Jones of Ramsey Jones Architects and Andy Braatz of Braatz Building meshed their expertise in development, architecture and construction to test the viability of turning the now vacant double mansion into a small historic hotel. Having worked together on several previous projects, the initially daunting undertaking eventually coalesced into the hotel we now see. Through a painstaking attention to detail, driven by a belief in the sustainable redevelopment of an existing structure, the Owners pursued listing with the State of Wisconsin Historic Registry and the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places. Despite years of use as a single room occupancy, small business offices, and eventual neglect, the building maintained good bones and sufficient architectural detail to merit the listing pursuit, and the faithful execution of rehabilitation. Cued by the prominence of Flemish-style shaped gables crowned with finials on this double house, an architectural detail prevalent in Milwaukee design of the era, combined with the Flemish-Dutch spelling of the word ‘double’, the owners pay homage to the home’s history and architecture by naming their new hotel, Dubbel Dutch.