Eau Claire developer JCap Real Estate’s proposal to redevelop the block home to Essen Haus German restaurant was approved Monday night by the city Plan Commission, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
The plans would preserve the Hotel Ruby Marie at 524 E. Wilson St. and raze the rest of the block, including 506, 510, 514, 516, and 518 E. Wilson St., as well as 134, 140, 148, and 150 S. Blair St. They would be replaced with an eight-story, 178-unit housing structure on South Blair Street and a six-story, 100-room hotel on East Wilson Street. The facades of the Come Back In and J.B. Drives Store Building would be rebuilt as part of the hotel as well. A “living street” planned between the apartment and hotel would accommodate pedestrians, outdoor dining, and open space.
JCap’s changes to the exterior design since the first project proposal include setting back the apartment building’s higher stories from the street and reducing the amount of visible sheet metal.
