145 jobs at risk as bidders seek Naperville hotel

About 145 jobs hang in the balance as two bidders apparently seek to buy the Holiday Inn Select in Naperville, which has been in foreclosure.

The hotel's management firm plans to lay off the workers by Dec. 31, according to a document filed with the state.

The management firm, Portfolio Hotels and Resorts, may have filed with the state as a way to remove itself from any potential liability should the new owners want another management team, said hotel general manager Dennis Igoe.

“But I have no plans to close down.” Igoe said. “I plan to be back at work on Jan. 3.”

While Igoe said the bank refused to disclose the two bidders for the hotel, Deerfield-based The Janko Group on Wednesday promised the city a Marriott Hotel would take over the location and make $25 million in renovations. But the deal was contingent on the project getting a $10 million sales and hotel tax rebate from the city.

If this or another deal is made, then the workers technically will be laid off from the Holiday Inn and then could become employees of the new owner. If there's no sale, then all of them could be laid off.

In April, the investors behind the Holiday Inn Select, which included many from the suburbs, were sued for about $20 million as the hotel faces foreclosure. The suit, filed in DuPage County Circuit Court, said the investors owed about $18.9 million plus interest and late fees to Anglo Irish Bank Corp of Ireland.

The 426-room hotel remains in operation while it has been in receivership, said Igoe.