Investors Secure Grant To Build Boutique Hotel In Eau Claire

A group of young and influential Eau Claire investors have secured a $500,000 state grant to open a boutique hotel in the city’s downtown.

Grammy Award-winner Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, cofounder of JAMF Software Zach Halmstad and alternative weekly publisher Nick Meyer are working to open a new 30-room boutique lodging and dining facility called the Oxbow Hotel.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation awarded the half-million dollar grant to help the investors transform an aging downtown hotel. Meyer said it will complement the city’s character

“It’s not just a box full of rooms out by the highway,” he said. “It’s an authentic place that’s a gateway to the experience here.”

A new performing arts center is also planned for downtown.

Meyer said the goal is to open the Oxbow before next year’s Eaux Claires Music and Arts Festival in August.