By Kathryn Merck
JANESVILLE
After years of redevelopment, what were once hotel rooms at the Monterey Hotel in downtown Janesville will soon become apartment units.
"It's the right thing for Janesville to have to bring in the old and new together," said building owner Jim Grafft.
According to the Rock County Historical Society, on August 23, 1929, the Janesville Gazette announced that its contest to name the city’s newest hotel resulted in the name “Monterey.” The Art Deco hotel opened on Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, February 12, 1930, at the southeast corner of High and West Milwaukee streets.
A portion of the building was built in 1880 and served as the Grand Hotel. In 1930, the remodel was completed. It was designed by architect Paul Frederick Olsen of the Frank Perry Firm of Chicago.
In 1960, John and Jacqueline Kennedy stayed here while on a presidential campaign trip. It sat empty during the 1990s.
In 2020, the city of Janesville struck a tax increment financing deal with Grafft that solidified plans to move forward with the building’s restoration. After delays with the supply chain and other issues, the building is finally complete.
"This has got all the modern amenities with the old world charm," said Grafft.
In the coming days, tenants will be able to sign leases the 51 units at the former hotel. Grafft says rates will range from $800 to $1500 a month. The units range from studio apartments to two bedrooms.
The apartments have lots of nods to the original Monterey Hotel. Photos of the old building exist throughout the halls, original flooring exists in some units, and each door has the former keyhole to the hotel rooms as the new peephole for the apartments
Grafft says it was important for him to keep some of these original elements into the new building's use.
"Anybody who was anybody at the time of 1930, this is where they wanted to be," Grafft said. "I was a history major in college and I just feel that there's a necessity to keep things in line and in perspective but still be current in today's world, and this building is a perfect example of it."
Jimsi Kuborn, the Economic Development Director with the City of Janesville, says the apartments will address a need for housing downtown and will provide a boost in the economy in the area.
"It's just such an icon in downtown; it's one of our taller buildings in downtown," Kuborn said. "It brings more people into our downtown, those people will be visiting our retail sites our restaurant sites, and of course it will recruit additional people to come to Janesville to work."
Below the apartments, there will be space that businesses will be able to lease as well.
Grafft says he's waiting for some final paperwork with the city to be able to start leasing out units, which he believes will happen in the coming days.
He says he's proud to be part of the project that returned the building to what it once was: a gem in Janesville