Wheaton Park District to consider hotel at Arrowhead

A Wheaton Park District golf course could be the future site of a hotel after officials agreed to allow a Kansas-based company to explore the idea.

Park board President Ray Morrill said the project, which would bring a 120-room hotel to Arrowhead Golf Club, 26W151 Butterfield Road, would increase revenue for the district but stressed that it remains in the preliminary stages.

“We need to come to an understanding as to whether we are leasing the property to them,” he said. “That is the route we would like to go as opposed to selling a portion of the golf course ... All we did was give the go-ahead to meet and talk about it.”

Morrill said the meetings will take place during the next 90 days and the park district's golf course committee will be closely involved in the discussion, which will be led by Fairway Suites LLC.

Morrill said he was excited about the potential of the project.

“It's creative, unique, innovative,” he said. “It's trying to think out of the box as to how we can generate new revenue without having to rely on tax dollars so consistently.”

The hotel would not include any banquet or food facilities, increasing the use of the existing banquet hall at the golf club. After an initial upfront payment, the hotel would then pay the park district under a lease agreement.

“We thought the synergy would be something that would work,” said Commissioner Phil Luetkehans, who is on the golf course committee.

He said the additional income a lease agreement would provide could be spread among the park district's other programs.

The discussions have moved quickly since Fairway officials approached the park district about a month ago.

Not all commissioners are on board. Kim VanderSchaaf said she is concerned the idea has not been fully thought out.

“Turning over land to a private developer in any way, whether through lease or sale of public property, is depriving the community of that property,” she said. “That's not what the park district is set up for ... It's, in fact, contrary to the park district's mission.”

VanderSchaaf said the economy serves as another deterrent for taking on a private developer on public land. She said she feared that a failed venture would saddle the park district with an even heavier burden.

“I don't think we can support (the hotel). What would we do if it went under?” she said.

Fairway Vice President of Development Jeremy Glasbrenner said the company opened its only other hotel-golf course facility in 2007 in Overland Park, Kansas.

However, because of the economy, as well as a test period to see if the idea works, Fairway Suites has held off on any other projects until now.

“We wanted to make sure this really worked,” he said. “We are not asking for any subsidy or any out-of-pocket expense from the city or the park district.”

He said the combination sites attract more users on the golf course as well as business to the surrounding community. If approved, the company will blend the look of the hotel with the existing club and will have a foot print of about 18,000 to 25,000 square feet, Glasbrenner said. Parking will also be added.

Luetkehans said he is not sure which way he's leaning but the hotel does fit in with the park district's mission.

“Our first mission is recreation but our second is to find ways to provide that recreation at a cost that is most efficient to taxpayers,” Luetkehans said.