Rosemont awarding TIF dollars for two hotel redevelopments
Rosemont plans to give tax increment financing dollars to developers of two hotel properties near the Allstate Arena as an incentive for their redevelopment and reopenings.
The village board Monday agreed to give Chicago-based Gateway Investment Partners LLC up to $6.5 million for the planned renovation of the closed Edward Hotel, 6600 Mannheim Road.
Gateway, led by founder and CEO Richard Curto, has the property under contract following a recent auction of the 9-story, 274-room hotel. It was seized by the US Marshals as part of a federal court proceeding against former owner Xiao Hua "Edward" Gong, related to fraud and money laundering charges in Canada.
Gateway will get 70% of the increment generated by the property, with a cap of $6.5 million. The company is required to spend $26 million on the project and open the hotel by the end of 2023, under terms of a redevelopment agreement approved by the village board.
The village established the TIF in 2014, whereby property taxes collected above a certain level are diverted into a special fund to pay for redevelopment projects within the district's boundaries.
"Obviously the sooner that they can get the project done and open, the sooner that they start receiving some of that increment," said Mayor Brad Stephens. "It's a pay-as-you-go TIF."
Plans call for the new hotel owner to split the building into two distinct hotel brands - a Staybridge Suites and Holiday Inn - as part of its $17 million renovation. Gateway plans to close in the next few weeks on its $6.75 million purchase of the old hotel.
It's also spending $2 million to buy some nearby land and construct a parking lot on property owned by Development Resources, Inc. The hotel has a licensing agreement to park on a portion of the sprawling open site, which was once was home to a par 3 golf course.
The latest Rosemont TIF incentive deal comes a week after village trustees approved a revised agreement with the developer of a hotel complex on the other side of the Jane Addams Tollway. The initial deal, inked in October 2017 between the village and Glenview-based U.S. Asia Investment Group, called for a maximum TIF incentive of $7 million to help pay for renovations to the former Wyndham O'Hare hotel on Mannheim Road. The board agreed last week to increase that cap to $10 million.
The front portion of the property - the eight-story, 200-room Hyatt Place Chicago/O'Hare Airport hotel - was first to open in 2016. Work is now underway to convert the rear four-story, 200-room portion into a La Quinta Inns & Suites and Best Western Premier. A one-story, 16,000-square-foot section of the old building is intended for restaurants that would cater to hotel visitors and arena patrons.
The revised agreement calls for La Quinta to open within the year, and the Best Western and restaurants two years later, with everything open by the end of 2023.