Renovation of old Rosemont hotel nears completion, as TIF deadline approaches
Renovations to a portion of a long-shuttered Rosemont hotel near the Allstate Arena are underway, amid impending village deadlines to receive public money to help pay for the work.
The village's zoning board this week reviewed an application for two building signs and a monument sign for La Quinta Inns & Suites, 6810 N. Mannheim Road, indicating the stalled redevelopment project is finally coming along.
Developer U.S. Asia Investment Group is converting the rear four-story, 200-room portion of the former Wyndham O'Hare hotel into the La Quinta, and a Best Western Premier. The front eight-story, 200-room Hyatt Place Chicago/O'Hare Airport hotel was first to open in 2016.
The Glenview-based developer and village inked a deal in October 2017 that called for $7 million worth of tax increment financing dollars to help pay for renovations to the hotel. Last year, the village board agreed to increase the cap to $10 million, providing funds for build out of a one-story, 16,000-square-foot section of the old building for retail or restaurant space that would cater to hotel visitors and Allstate Arena patrons.
In January, the board again agreed to the developer's request to extend deadlines for their opening dates: for the refurbished hotels, the end of September 2022, and for the commercial space, a year later. The extensions were granted after the developer expressed difficulties getting building materials and a labor shortage brought on by the pandemic.
"The developer understands the concerns of the village. They will do their best at getting this done in time. Otherwise, they understand not getting the increment we agreed to," Mayor Brad Stephens said in January.
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.
The zoning board this week also held a public hearing for a restaurant within the Hyatt Place, but board Chairman Ron Holtman said the formality was needed because a third party, Butler Hospitality, is taking over operation of the hotel's existing dining room space. No major remodel or build out is proposed, and it's in a different portion of the building than where new restaurants were conceptualized, Holtman said.
No formal plans have yet been brought forward for new restaurants or retail inside a still-closed building on the hotel campus.