Josh Berkson and Patrick Sweeney, owners of Merchant in downtown Madison, are proposing a $12 million entertainment district for the First Settlement area at King and Main streets on the site of what is now a small triangular parking lot. They hope to build the King Hotel, a seven-story flatiron building at 118 King St. that would include a New Orleans-style balcony along its second floor as well as a restaurant, an underground music venue, a rooftop bar, and 33 boutique hotel rooms costing $200 a night or more.
King Hotel LLC is the entrepreneurial group led by Berkson and Sweeney, who are joined by the owners of the Majestic Theatre, Madison’s, and Context Clothing. Iowa-based OPN Architects has been tapped for design.
The project must win over the Urban Design Commission, the Plan Commission, and the City Council.
