The Journal Star reports that Kinseth Hospitality, owner of the Holiday Inn City Centre downtown, is bidding farewell to Peoria. The hotel will be managed by Pyramid Hotel Group of Boston. It’s unclear at this time who will actually own the property.
Kinseth was critical of the city of Peoria, which provided EM Properties Ltd. with a $37 million bond to reconstruct the Hotel Pere Marquette into a Marriott Hotel structure.
About a year ago, he wanted the City Council to support a $10 million City Centre renovation project with $8 million in assistance. That, however, did not go anywhere.
“Obviously, the city is not willing to support this hotel at this time,” Kinseth said. “In 10 years, we haven’t made a dime and spent tons of our money and worked very hard. We’ve never made any money on the hotel and worked very hard and care deeply about the hotel and staff. At this time, we can’t do it anymore. It’s time to move on.”
The assistance Kinseth sought from the City would have upgraded their property from a Holiday Inn to a Crowne Plaza Hotel. The plan was remarkably similar to the Wonderful Development, though far less costly. Yet the City wouldn’t even entertain Kinseth’s proposal, despite the supposedly dire need for more quality rooms downtown to support the Civic Center. Instead, the City is using the Holiday Inn’s property taxes and sales taxes to fund their competition to the tune of $37 million. It’s hard to blame Kinseth for giving up on Peoria under those circumstances.
So, “the city’s largest hotel” has been dissed in favor of an old rotting hotel…
Sounds just like our High School problem, doesn’t it?
Save The Pere, and Save Peoria High! Screw everyone else.
To act like the Pere is an old rotting hotel is ridiculous. Does it need some work – yes – but every hotel needs constant attention because use wears on the structure. When I have had family staying at the Pere they loved it – and I spent time in their rooms. Public areas were clearly nicer than most hotels – and the rooms were on par with other hotels. One of their rooms was even significantly larger than a normal hotel room.
So Kinseth gave the property up to the bank, and Pyramid is running it for now. Those involved can try to paint as rosy a picture of this as possible, but it still means Kinseth couldn’t meet its obligations and the bank was willing to take some sort of deed-in-lieu to avoid legal costs and time delays while either forclosure or bankruptcy took place. Bad omen for the Enormo-tel by Matthews…Predict the Holiday Inn flag will no longer be flying over city centre by fall…
Does this mean an informal plan exists to demolish three or four of the crappier hotels in Peoria to offset the addition of the new Marriott?
The location is terrible. It never should have been built there to begin with.
Kinseth said that they haven’t made a dime in ten years and spent tons of their own money. So how does this compare with what is predicted for the Pere/Marriott to meet its obligations for the new project? If the establsihed hotel can’t meet its obligations how can a new one with millions in debt service going to make it and especially in this economy. They keep talking about tourist coming and spending. Well you have to have a job before you can become a tourist and spend your money somewhere and I don’t see too many of them in the area. The hotel and the museum are all depending on tourist that have no jobs. Makes no sense to me at all. Wake up people. Too many in other places in this country don’t have jobs either so they have no more money than us locals. So how are they going to come to our playground and play?
You can’t do business with people that don’t have any money. I do wonder whether cities all over the country are anticipating a banker-style bailout to rescue them from the consequences of their moronic business decisions.
“So how does this compare with what is predicted for the Pere/Marriott to meet its obligations for the new project? If the establsihed hotel can’t meet its obligations how can a new one with millions in debt service going to make it and especially in this economy”
Wow this is the most common sense statement I have read in a long time. You should run for office.
“Does this mean an informal plan exists to demolish three or four of the crappier hotels in Peoria to offset the addition of the new Marriott?”
Not so fast. The powers to be ARDIS, SPAIN, SPEARS, TURNER, VanAUKEN, TIM, and CHRISTMAS CLYDE, all said we need ADDITIONAL QUALITY rooms to make the Civic Center expansion a success to attract larger conventions. If we tear down those rooms then we lose our capability to house all the people that are going to come, unless there are additonal deals for Mr. Matthews in the works for addtional new hotels downtown. Stay tuned…
The downtown and PCC needs more quality hotel rooms, and needs more hotel rooms attached to the PCC. There is no doubt about that. The question is who pays for that and should local govt be involved?
“There is no doubt about that.”
This is hardly a settled point.
This is America, you are free to disagree with anything, no matter whether you are thinking clearly or not.
“Not so fast. The powers to be ARDIS, SPAIN, SPEARS, TURNER, VanAUKEN, TIM, and CHRISTMAS CLYDE, all said we need ADDITIONAL QUALITY rooms to make the Civic Center expansion a success to attract larger conventions.”
– The powers that be said this?
– You ARE being sarcastic….right? Please tell me you are……….
– Just like “the powers that be” told us the PRM, etc, would be our own little version of Disney Land.
This is bunk.
With Chicago just to the north, and St. Louis to the south, what makes anyone think that Peoria will ever be in a position to attract a ‘lion’s share’ of the convention market? The number of available rooms for high school sporting events, soccer, etc, have always been more than adequate. Millions are being spent in the hopes of attracting a market that just doesn’t exist for Peoria.
All icing and no cake.
Sure…PCC is a nice facility, the new hotel will be grand, but what convention goers want is entertainment. After a long day of meetings and powerpoints, out come the whoopee cushions and water balloons. Let the party begin! Hells bells, if a number of overly conservative Peorian’s have their way, there won’t even be a Big Als for these guys [and women?] to visit. There is, of course, the new museum…?
Peoria has to be pitched as that appealing, livable ‘little city,’ that gets you away from the noise, crime, etc, of the ‘big city.’ We need families, new residents, homeowners, etc. Not a couple of service oriented industries that bring in a few low-paying jobs.
There is the multi-million dollar museum going in… Supposed to provide Peoria with a whopping 12 full-time, 30 part-time jobs! Don’t even get me started on the other “quality of life projects” underway in our fair city.
Just a reminder…….
Those 12 full-time jobs ‘created’ by the proposed museum…? These will not even be new positions needing to be filled. We all know the Lakeview staff will be moving into them.
Funny isn’t it? Now we can’t even depend on the museum to provide Peoria area with new [paying] jobs. Temp construction jobs don’t count.
Please tell me again: What is in Peoria that is worthy of an overnight stay in a $150 – $200 a night hotel room?
B. Pig; I’ll tell you what is worthy of a $200 a night stay in Peoria. Ya really want to know? Well, er….. Ya know, I can’t think of a damn thing.
And now, we lose another hotel. The Grand Hotel, formerly the Holiday Inn on Brandywine, is closing and becoming a senior living center.
SD, Kinseth has spent millions of their money on the HICC.I worked for him and did the room renovations in 98′-99’re-opening the rooms around the pool which used to be outside.I also worked on the 2001-2002 renovations on 327 rooms,the pool enclosure,the meeting rooms, and building the Bennigans.At that time it was a 90% renovation.In the recent renovation the Public areas of the hotel have been completed with carpet,wallpaper,lighting and sound systems.Along with the capability to have hundreds of designated high speed access in each meeting room.There is a brand new domestic hot water delivery system,and the rooftop hvac’s are new.More than half of the room package has been completed.When Bruce Kinseth asked for $8 million to complete the renovation it was a guaranteed loan..Unlike the Pere.So when Bob Marx tells the news media about the HICC needing re-done he is stretching it a bit.Three renovation projects since 98′,each around $10 mil..The HICC will have a hard time getting room nights after the Marriott is built because the Bureau will send all the business to the Marriott….I doubt that Bruce gave the Hotel to the bank..The Kinseths have 40 other hotels from Texas to Wisconsin,I think they finally had enough of the Convention Bureau and the City.. The Grand is not closing,they are going to try and do the senior living and room rentals.They will make some of the rooms into ADA eguiped appartments. Have a good day
The Grand Hotel closing will be a plus for the new Marriott.
Thee projects don’t need to succeed. There is no benefit to the developers for them to succeed. They get their profits up from and move on to newer bigger and better “projects”.
1) Invest thousands in plans and experts
2) Sell project for $9 million
3) Subcontract it out for $5 million
4) Repeat step 1 somewhere else QUICKLY, before anyone catches on
or
4) Alternatively, wait a while and try again somewhere else where no one has heard of you.
If this project fails, I imagine Gary Matthews is bankrupt. He will have to personally guarantee approximately $50 million of private debt.
Matthews is taking a helluva risk along with the City.
Please, please understand the project before you start shooting from the hip.
Isn’t the Castle Lodge (Jumer’s) on Western also slated for retirement living?
Good God.
“I imagine Gary Matthews is bankrupt. ”
Do I need a passport to enter your Imagi-Nation?
Gary Matthews is $9 million in the black already and he hasn’t started taking advantage of subcontractors and non-union laborers, yet.
Charlie, you are simply wrong again. He will have to personally guarantee $50 million in debt. If this project is an abject failure as you predict, there will be a heavy price to pay. Mr. Matthews is gambling big time with this project.
You know, you can be against this project without making a fool of yourself by totally not understanding what is going on here. There are plenty of good reasons to oppose it, but you bypass those and just make inaccurate statements. Sigh.
Charlie, this is a city project. He will have to use union labor, you should know that.
Yeah… “have to”.
What does “personally guarantee …debt” mean? Who does he owe $50,000,000 to? He is paying for the construction out of his pocket for this project?
The banks. No bank will loan $50 million without a personal guarantee.
You keep over reaching. Grasp on to the good arguments and don’t over reach with poor arguments.
Good arguments win converts. Your numerous poor arguments make you look desperate.
150 Observer, you don’t appear to have converted anybody on this blog to your argument, so what does that make our argument?
By your own words as you continue to argue desperately for converts – you are over reaching. You are so a p.r. hack.
Banks? Is that where you think the money is coming from? [ Southside Banks? Mr. Backlund, did they come to you for money? ] Did Matthews apply for and put collateral up for a $50,000,000 loan?
Well, considering I am not a supporter of the Marriott project, your argument seems flawed. I have never said that I would have voted for the Marriott, my time here has simply been spent refuting all the misconceptions and misunderstandings about it. There are plenty of good reasons to be against it. Grasp those and you can make a good case.
One of the real faults of a few here is they are so vehemently against some issues that they vastly over reach in their battle against them and, thus, look like they aren’t really thoughful. They just look like wild eyed zealots.
Yes, Charlie, banks will provide much of the approximately $50 mil in financing. They will want personal guarantees. I suspect, as in all mortgage laons, that the collateral will be the property.
Hotel/Museum Observer—-My only hope is that people understand this Marriott project better. If I convert one person to the facts that is good enough for me. I have always been drawn to issues by the facts–not by wild-eyed support or opposition.
Some here do not listen very well. I can say “Downtown needs quality hotel rooms attached to the PCC” without meaning that I support the public financing of this project. Unfortunately, once they hear the first part of that statement—that PCC needs quality hotel rooms—they don’t listen to the part where I say that the public financing part may be troublesome.
There is rarely a complicated issue that doesn’t have good arguments on both sides of the issue. I like to recognize both sides and then make a decision. Some zealots refuse to recognize that even their opposition can make some good arguments–maybe not enough to carry the day—but some good arguments. That cheapens their opposition and makes it look like it isn’t well thought out.
Hotel/Museum Observer–the sign of a faulty or poorly formed argument is when you start name calling.
“banks will provide much of the approximately $50 mil in financing. They will want personal guarantees. I suspect, as in all mortgage loans, that the collateral will be the property.”
So… Matthew’s risk is what? The property? He doesn’t own the property.
Mathews risk is his personal assets—-personal guarantees are just that, personal. His risk is that the banks will come to him personally for payment on $50 million–or whatever is left–of the mortgages.
That puts all his personal assets–as well as his ownership interest in corporations–at risk.
Three Peoria hotels (and counting) will be closing :
1.) Holiday Inn
2.) Grand Hotel
3.) Jumers
4.) ???
5.) ???
Perhaps this blog can maintain a running total of all the hotels that will be closing. Place it on the sidebar. “Wonderful” Development, indeed!
GM wll be on the hook but I highly doubt he will be in this finished project for long.