Second proposal for hotel at Elk Grove tech park falls through amid financing woes
A second proposal for a hotel at the Elk Grove Technology Park has fallen through after its developer, like the last one, was unable to obtain financing, village officials said.
Hiten Patel, of the Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Rivermont Hospitality, advised the village that a proposed 79-room Hilton Home2 wouldn't be going forward on his property at the entrance to the 85-acre tech park on Higgins Road.
Patel purchased the 1.7-acre site in 2021, after a separate hotel project led by Chicago-based hotel developer Shapra Group II and equity partner Schaumburg-based EquityRoots fell apart amid financing troubles and the pandemic.
Both development groups inked agreements with the village, which offered to refund a portion of local hotel taxes - and, for Patel, a promise of more than $1 million in tax increment financing funds - but those deals have been called off since neither developer was able to get a shovel in the ground, officials said.
So, too, was a request for a Cook County Class 7B property tax incentive, which would have allowed the land to be assessed at lower levels over a dozen years. The village board this week formally rescinded its endorsement of the tax break.
The agreement with Rivermont called for the developer to spend at least $8 million in private funds and to start construction last month.
The village and Rosemont-based Brennan Investment Group, developer of the sprawling tech park, have been eyeing a hotel intended to serve business travelers since breaking ground on the site in 2018.
Mayor Craig Johnson said he still thinks there's a need for lodging in the area, but he's also open to suggestions for something else.
"We're not sure what makes sense there, because hotels are not doing so well today," he said.
A neighboring site - intended for a restaurant - is still being marketed for sale by Brennan, the mayor added.
Despite the slow ancillary development at the entrance to the park, officials announced in March that all of the park's spec warehouse space is fully leased. Meanwhile, work continues on the first of three planned Microsoft data center buildings on the east side of the property - a construction site that was visited last fall by President Joe Biden.