Governor Jim Doyle announced on Tuesday that a bill he passed would award 1.7 million in grants through the Department of Natural Resources to assess contamination at abandoned or underused properties in 31 communities across the state.

The Brownsfields Site Assessment Grant will benefit Chippewa County awarding $100,000 to assess and demolish the former Hotel Royal in Downtown Stanley. The county is doing this measure to sell the property for future development. Lately the property has been an eyesore to downtown Stanley.

The property is an historical marker of the community dating back 110 years ago. The hotel was founded by Jack Klauck and William Sattler, married to sisters, had bought a lot of land of which the original Stanley Hotel had been built. Sattler and Klauck had built the hotel in 1895 and implemented the construction of a public hall in 1896.

The structure was four stones and was known as the Klauck and Sattler Hall and Opera House. In 1903 the Opera House was elevated and a bar and restaurant were added. The hotel took on a European name, “The Royal.”

In 1906 the rebuilding and brick veneering began on the Hotel Royal. The Hotel Royal was taken over by Sattler’s sons in 1914. The structure received significant damage in 1918 when the building had a very bad fire and caused rebuilding of the property in moving the kitchen and dining room to the first floor.

The building was used until 1997 when Chippewa County took ownership of the building due to back taxes. The building was then owned by Ruth Williams and was being operated as a cafe. The building has been vacant since. The years have really taken its toll on the aged building with many improvements needed to it.

The building was opened for bids to be sold last spring by the county. The highest bid was by Jeff and Deb Makovsky, owners of Rustic Resale and Consignment a business that was in downtown Stanley. The Makovsky were prepared to pay $10,000 for the property-

The Makovskys were planning to make a mini mall out of the property. The plan was to double the size of their current store on the first floor. Then they would develop the top story of the building to house 16 area businesses. The Makovskys were planning to also have a recreational and arcade that would be non-alcoholic and non-smoking for people of all ages. The offer fell through and the building has remained vacant since.

Chippewa County is working out a plan to complete the project in the year time they were awarded with the grant. “The building needs to be environmentally assessed,' said Chippewa County Parks and Forest representative Doyle Richards. “Phase one will include a company coming to assess the property for any hazardous materials.”

Richards stated that this would be a lengthy project and that they are going to most likely hire a private firm to do all the analysis work of the property with engineering. The county is not planning to keep the property after they have completed the demolition work and fix up the land. “It is my understanding that the department will sell the land after the project is complete,” Richards said.

The landmark will be missed however, “As I sec it it’s the end of an era,” said Mayor Dave Jankoski. 'It will bring sadness and leave a hole in Main Street.”

The front-page article on the historic Hotel Royale of Stanley from the March 31, 2005 edition of the Stanley Republican. Image courtesy of Wisconsin Badgerlink.