It was a great day in Two Rivers yesterday. The Cool City was one of six communities, statewide, to highlight the role of the Wisconsin Main Street program in making downtowns more vibrant. City Manager Greg Buckley spoke at a groundbreaking for a new hotel near the downtown waterfront by a group of 15 area investors. Buckley told the crowd that “those investors are bringing to downtown Two Rivers, a 55 room hotel, a $6.3 million investment, the first new lodging constructed in Manitowoc County in over 20 years, and the affiliation of a successful Wisconsin based lodging chain, Cobblestone.”
Buckley added about the effort, “A great team….a good combination, it’s good for our city.” State Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes was on hand and also spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony, referring to the natural beauty of the site and money received from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. According to Barnes, the WEDC is helping by financing $250,000 to the project. “It’s important that we focus on revitalization.” Barnes said. “You have all the rich, natural resources. The things you can’t buy, because they are right here in Two Rivers.”
Two Rivers’ Main Street Executive Director, Roger Russove talked of the benefits of the lodging addition. He said the hotel will be a “huge asset to downtown Two Rivers” due to its vicinity to the other business downtown. “It’s going to feed business to the restaurants downtown, the retail stores downtown, all of the shops that we have.”
There was also a ribbon cutting to celebrate the recent opening of Scream N’ Conuts, an ice cream shop, owned by 17 year old Emilee Rysticken. Lieutenant Governor Barnes praised the shop saying, “This is exactly the kind of economic development we want to encourage.” Barnes said that the recent Two Rivers High School graduate is helping bridge the gap between the older generations, and the younger.
The festivities in downtown Two Rivers were part of the third annual Wisconsin Main Street Day.
