A Century in the Making: The Milwaukee Athletic Club

The Milwaukee Athletic Club (MAC) is a Distinguished Clubs that has deep roots and history. ?

The club officially began in 1882, but landed in its current location in 1917, in a building that cost $2 millon and designed by local architect Armand Koch in a Neoclassical style. ?

In 1948 the clubhouse underwent a nine-year restoration developed by Eschweiler & Eschweiler. ?

Fast forward to April 2022 and the members and club celebrated the completion of a $62 million historic renovation project which restored The MAC to its former grandeur and included many state-of-the-art enhancements. ?

Josh Jeffers, founder and chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based J. Jeffers & Co. and Tony Janowiec , founder and chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based Interstate Development Partners took on this four-year journey. ?

“It was a total gut rehabilitation, a top-to-bottom renovation of a building that was built in 1917 with amazing thoughtfulness put into the aesthetics and the culture of the urban downtown Milwaukee business community,” said Josh Jeffers.

“We needed to replace all the mechanical, electrical and plumbing infrastructure throughout the entire building and bring everything up to present-day code compliance. The only way to accomplish this level of retrofit was to demolish everything and take it all down to the original frame,” he added.

“We came into this knowing that the rehabilitation work was one slice of the pie. We did our research, not only the historical background research. And early on, we knew that in order to honor this building and have it meet the demands of today’s members, tenants, guests and event-goers, we would have to find the balance between what seems like a juxtaposition: and historical property with deep meaning to the City of Milwaukee and a technologically advanced social club that attracts people of all ages,” stated Tony Janowiec. ?

With a clear vision and the dedication to take the building down to the studs and reinvent the members’ experience, this project included the following major improvements. ?

Lodging

• Renovation of six hotel rooms and 27-member residence apartments.?

Athletics

• Functional/free weight (Keiser Strength and Precor) training turf, hosting sleds, 21’ functional ring, water rower, ski erg, Assault Bike, and Curve Runner.?
• Group exercise room (rooftop available seasonally) providing yoga, kickboxing, dance cardio, barre, and HIIT.?
• Cycle studio includes top-of-the-line bikes from Keiser and Peleton and large screen displays to provide members with the ultimate experience with MyZone heart rate technology to race against other participants.
• Stretching/Recovery area offering Hyperice, and Hypervolt massage gun to target tight muscles and Normatec compression boots.?
• Competition size indoor basketball court (pickleball too) for leagues, tournaments and challenges. ?
• 20-meter saltwater pool, three lap lanes, open year-round for recreational swimming, private lessons, and group classes.?
• New men’s and women’s locker rooms including steam rooms, Himalayan Sea salt sauna with Bluetooth speakers, and luxury robes/towels.?
• Virtual Golf Suites featuring Trackman for serious, social and family golfers.? Includes tournaments/leagues, club fitting, lessons, and radar-based metrics.?
• Pilates reformer studio featuring Allegro 2 Reformer machines.?
• Cardiovascular equipment featuring treadmills, ellipticals, climbers, stationary bikes, and incline trainers, offering virtual training, HDTV, and multiple app integrations.?

Dining and Socialization

• 1882 - A place to host business roundtables and meet for Affinity Clubs?
• Olympic Ballroom – An homage to The club’s history of sending athletes to the Olympic Games, featuring ornate carvings depicting all sports played at The MAC from 1882 to 1948
• Grand Ballroom – banquet space for club and private events for up to 300 attendees.?
• The Terrace – Amazing rooftop views from this 13th floor dining room hosting upscale New American cuisine (serving breakfast, lunch and dinner). ?
• The Elephant Room – This historic room features premium, rare spirits, and craft cocktails. ?
• MAC Kids – This Kids Club provides short-term care for the members’ children, featuring games, toys, arts and crafts.?

Upon completion of these capital improvements and a site visit by a Distinguished Club site surveyor, The MAC has been elevated from Exceptional to Elite Distinguished Club designation. ? BR

Ronald Banaszak, CCM, CCE , BoardRoom Distinguished Club Executive Vice President of International Business Development. Ron may be contacted at (415) 420-5183 or [email protected]. ?