St. Charles' Pheasant Run will go up for auction next month. Starting bid: $2 million.
The iconic Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles will be up for auction next month, with bids starting at $2 million.
The 18.3-acre site at 4051 E. Main St. is listed on the Ten-X Commercial real estate website as an "extraordinary lodging investment opportunity" in an affluent area with dense demographics. The auction will take place Jan. 27-29.
Hostmark Hospitality Group, which manages the resort, announced plans last month to lay off nearly 150 employees - more than 75% of its staff - amid what company leaders called a "restructuring of operations." The property was later listed for sale through Colliers International, a real estate company.
According to the auction website, Pheasant Run has 293 hotel rooms and suites, seven restaurants, and 31,930 square feet of banquet and meeting space. The resort also operates a comedy club, theater, indoor-outdoor pool and an 18-hole golf course that it leases from the adjacent DuPage Airport.
The 56-year-old resort holds redevelopment and rebranding potential, with interest shown from international hotel companies such as DoubleTree by Hilton and Delta by Marriott, according to the auction website.
"Right sizing" the hotel tower to 202 rooms could make operations more efficient, the listing says, and some tax increment financing money - a certain amount of property tax money funneled toward redevelopment rather than local governments - may be available to assist in the property's refurbishment.
Pheasant Run typically generates $500,000 to $600,000 in tax revenue for the city each year, City Administrator Mark Koenen said. St. Charles officials said they hope to partner with owners and managers in future plans for the resort, which could help revive the city's eastern gateway.
The resort was founded in 1963 by Edward McArdle and continued expanding for decades, with the hotel tower constructed in the late 1970s and the convention center built in the '80s.
Then in 2011, the property fell into foreclosure and was later purchased by an investment group, at which point Hostmark was hired to manage the resort.
The DuPage Airport Authority filed a condemnation lawsuit in 2016 to block what leaders said was an "incompatible" residential development proposed for Pheasant Run's golf course. As part of a settlement agreement, the airport paid $8.9 million to purchase the 94-acre golf course, which is still operated by Pheasant Run.
Airport leaders said last month they have "no interest at this point" in acquiring the remaining resort property.
The sweeping layoffs at Pheasant Run are expected to take place by mid-January, Hostmark representatives said. The resort is expected to honor existing reservations through February.