Stonegate Banquet Centre tent wins reprieve in Hoffman Estates

A tent-enclosed patio area on the west side of The Stonegate Banquet and Conference Centre in Hoffman Estates won a 7½-month reprieve Monday when the village board gave the owners until July 1 to address several maintenance violations elsewhere on the property.

Village officials emphasized that there were no violations with the tent and patio themselves, but the five-year renewal of their special-use permit that came due this month has provided some leverage in getting separate maintenance issues reported last summer taken care of.

Among these were the deterioration of the parking lot, a metal staircase behind the building and a masonry wall along the pond, as well as the removal of 46 shade trees that haven't been replaced.

Such maintenance concerns are new for the 16-year-old facility at 2401 W. Higgins Road, but it's just reaching the age when major upgrades are likely necessary, said Peter Gugliotta, Hoffman Estates' director of planning, building and code enforcement.

Village board members also expressed their surprise a "crown jewel" of Hoffman Estates was experiencing such a "steep taper."

"We want the best for everything, because it is the entryway into our village," Trustee Karen Mills said of The Stonegate.

Village staff members reported the violations to the owners at Stonegate Properties Inc. last July, with the provision that the scheduled Nov. 15 renewal of the tent and patio's special-use permit could be at risk if the problems remained unaddressed.

Representatives of Stonegate Properties Monday said they'd found a hardship in getting all the costly repairs done this budget year.

Though village board members said staying ahead of such repairs was one of the responsibilities of ownership, they granted the request to give The Stonegate until next summer to get things done.

"We don't want contracts, we want it done," Mayor Bill McLeod said.