COUNTRY INN & SUITES GROUNDBREAKING OFFICIALLY BEGINS REDEVELOPMENT OF 2018 EXPLOSION SITE
COUNTRY INN & SUITES GROUNDBREAKING OFFICIALLY BEGINS REDEVELOPMENT OF 2018 EXPLOSION SITE
By Chris Mertes
For the City of Sun Prairie
SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. – JCAP Real Estate officials joined City of Sun Prairie officials, Downtown Sun Prairie business owners and Sun Prairie Chamber of Commerce members to officially break ground for a new 63-room Country Inn & Suites Hotel on Thursday, October 23 in Downtown Sun Prairie.
“On behalf of our entire team, I want to thank the City of Sun Prairie, its leadership, National Bank of Commerce, and all the local business owners, especially David Baehr, the former landowner, for their incredible support in making this project possible,” remarked Alex Padrnos from JCAP Real Estate.
Padrnos thanked the business community and the support of investors for the start of the new hotel project on the site of the 2018 natural gas explosion that claimed the life of Sun Prairie Fire Capt. Cory Barr, injured two people and leveled five buildings in addition to displacing dozens of downtown residents.
“Today’s groundbreaking marks an exciting step forward,” Padrnos said, “not just for our team, but for the continued growth and vibrancy of downtown Sun Prairie. Thanks for being here today.”
Sun Prairie Economic Development Director Taylor Brown, who personally unloaded all 17 shovels used during the groundbreaking, called the development an important milestone for the City of Sun Prairie.
“It’s significant for a couple of reasons. Obviously, this is the site of the 2018 explosion, so there's a lot of emotion related to the development on this site. There was a lot of conversation early on that something just needed to go here, that people were tired of looking at the empty site,” Brown said.
“Second, a downtown hotel is huge for our community,” Brown said. “It provides a lot of options for walking to events in Sun Prairie. And, you know, just another level of us growing up in the world a little bit too.”
Mayor Steve Stocker said he believed the project is another example of Sun Prairie Strong, the three-word slogan developed after the explosion to rally business redevelopment and encourage visitors to return to Downtown Sun Prairie. Stocker, who was District 1 Alder in 2018, was among the first to witness the aftermath of the explosion — shattered windows at many Main Street businesses and the Sun Prairie Historical Museum.
“I suggested, when the apartments go in, that it should be called The Phoenix, because just like the hotel and the apartments, it's rising from the ashes,” Stocker said.
“I think it’s important that we put something here and rebuild what we lost years ago,” the mayor added. “This will be another testament that ‘Sun Prairie Stronger’ is viable and is something that wasn't just a one-time thing, but is still in our minds, and still we're working on rebuilding.”
Both Brown and Stocker said the new hotel — and a 100-unit apartment complex to be constructed along Bristol Street — will make downtown more marketable. They both pointed to the 26,000 sq. ft. Sun Prairie Utilities parcel at 125 W. Main that will become available after December, when SPU moves into a new, larger Linnerud Drive facility.
Stocker said he believed the project may be a catalyst for more development in Downtown Sun Prairie.
“What’s going to happen as a result of the hotel and the eventual apartments is we need foot traffic downtown, and this will add that dimension – just as The Monarch is doing,” said Stocker, referring to Monarch on Main, the housing and retail development located directly across Main Street from the hotel’s East Main Street site.
“We’ll add that foot traffic to downtown, and hopefully the businesses will flourish,” Stocker added. “And as they flourish, it will attract more business.”
“This is very important for downtown,” Brown said. “The business community was really supportive of this project and are looking forward to it getting started.”
Downtown Sun Prairie is already preparing for an upcoming significant event — The Culver’s Isthmus Bowl — that Sun Prairie is hoping will benefit significantly from the downtown hotel.
“The Culver’s Isthmus Bowl just signed on for another three years at the Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium,” Brown said, referring to events that will book rooms in the new Country Inn & Suites when it is completed. “So that's another big event that will utilize the stadium here, and that that’s coming up just in a few weeks.”
