Why Glen Ellyn is buying lodge houses on Roosevelt Street for $2.85 million

Glen Ellyn is transferring to devote $2.85 million to buy hotel properties on Roosevelt Street to handle the long term redevelopment of a website regarded as an eyesore by village officials.

Trustees on Monday night time authorised a purchase settlement with the proprietor of the properties containing the Budgetel Inn & Suites and America’s Very best Worth Inn between Roosevelt Road and Taft Avenue.

After the invest in is finalized, the village plans to invite developer desire by sending out a official ask for for proposals.

Motels have occupied the web site due to the fact the 1950s. Collectively, the advanced was acknowledged as the 4 Seasons Motel before the structures have been rebranded as prolonged-keep resorts. The web site also has experienced a heritage of law enforcement phone calls.

“Encouraging reinvestment in the web site has been a lengthy-term intention for the village board for several a long time, for several boards,” Village Supervisor Mark Franz mentioned. “Specified the assets has been on and off the market, the village has resolved to actively pursue the house to generate long run expense.”

The village utilised a industrial real estate broker, Polly Berry, to negotiate a buy with Glengold Hospitality Group LLC, which owns and operates the resorts. Two buildings remain on the attributes.

As a ailment of the acquisition, the hotels must be vacant. There may possibly now be as many as 19 company leasing resort rooms, officials mentioned.

The village will forego an inspection period of time, acquiring previously performed its due diligence, Franz claimed.

In return, the village would have the proper to terminate the settlement if the attributes are not vacant in 120 times of signing it, Franz reported.

The village will fork out for the purchase by drawing from 3 funding resources: $2 million in common fund reserves, $500,000 in corporate reserve cash and $350,000 in tax increment financing dollars.

The village in 2013 recognized a TIF district all around the place encompassing the inns to aid spur redevelopment efforts together the Roosevelt Road corridor.

In a TIF district, as redevelopment boosts house values, the more tax earnings that normally would go to taxing bodies these as faculties and parks can be made use of to pay out for advancements in the spot.

Also in 2013, the village adopted new resort licensing procedures in response to complaints from motel company about unsanitary situations and drinking water and heat difficulties.

Buying the homes will enable promote an location that has been “blighted for decades,” Trustee Gary Fasules said.

Trustee Steve Thompson stated he was “enthusiastically supportive” of the buy. The village board and prepare commission, he stated, will enable shape what a long run redevelopment project could glance like, “no matter if there’s an inexpensive housing ingredient to it, whether or not it truly is acquired some retail element to it that activates that area.”

Franz explained the village will assess whether to tear down the lodges or have a developer manage the demolition.