Extended-stay hotel proposed for Carol Stream site

A prominent piece of vacant land in Carol Stream could become the site of the village's third hotel.

Developers have received informal feedback from village planners about building a four-story, 123-room, extended-stay hotel along the west side of Gary Avenue, just south of Stark Drive.

Holladay Properties, a real estate firm based in South Bend, Indiana, has pitched only a conceptual plan and has indicated the company will apply for village zoning approvals this winter, Community Development Director Don Bastian said Monday.

Developers have entered into a tentative contract to buy the empty, three-acre lot across Gary Avenue from Windfall Plaza, a shopping center with a Savers thrift store and a Cabinets and Granite Direct.

But the firm has identified the hotel operator - a WoodSpring Suites, Bastian said. The chain currently runs hotels in Darien and Romeoville that feature rooms with kitchens and other offerings for long-term guests.

In Carol Stream, the hotel would cater largely to travelers on business trips in a town with about 20 million square feet of industrial space.

The project would require a review by the village's plan commissioners and a special-use permit. Exterior designs also would have to meet village rules for certain businesses seeking to open on Gary Avenue, a major north-south artery.

Trustees would get the final say on whether construction could begin on the hotel.

If the board approves the plans, developers could break ground in the spring or summer under the "best-case scenario," Bastian said.

"We could certainly see the need for something like this," he said.

Carol Stream has two hotels - the Holiday Inn on south Gary Avenue and the Hampton Inn on North Avenue.