If the village has its way, a new hotel might grace Oak Park in the near future, possibly on the Colt super block.
In keeping with the Downtown and Madison Street Master Plans, the village had a hotel feasibility study conducted earlier this year to gauge whether a market for a new hotel exists. According to the consultant, the village has “ample” demand for an upscale hotel with banquet facilities.
TR Mandigo, a hotel consultant with over 35-years of experience, analyzed demand and potential locations in Oak Park, such as Lake Street’s Colt building, the village owned parking lot at Madison and Oak Park, and the privately owned Pancake House property at Lake and Forest, the latter of which Mandigo determined was the best spot for a hotel.
A group of Chicago investors bought the Lake and Forest property-which includes the Pancake House, Certifiedland Grocers and the small, and now vacant, retail spaces in-between-for several million dollars last year.
Developer Sertus Capital Partners LLC presented preliminary plans to the village board last June for a 13-story mixed-use condominium project at the site. The plan also incorporated the land currently occupied by a village owned parking garage just east and north of the property.
Sertus is open to the hotel idea, according to spokesperson Jim Prescott. They’ve had discussions with the village and are exploring the possibility, but weren’t prepared to make any further statements as of Tuesday. Prescott emphasized that adding a hotel would have to work financially for Sertus to consider it.
Developers will drive the hotel exploration process not the village, said Bob Clements, acting director of development services in Oak Park. After completion of his study, Mandigo sent summaries of the study to several developers. Hotel Indigo, an international hotel company with seven different brands, as well as others hotel chains, have expressed interest in Oak Park based on the mailing.
The village is waiting to see if any developers propose a hotel for the Colt super block’s “request for qualifications” which the village released last month. Responses to that RFQ are due by today and as of Monday, none had been submitted, Clements said.
He did, however, guarantee there would be some responses, with the village receiving five to 10 calls a week inquiring about the RFQ.
Village President David Pope expects village staff to report to the board sometime in the future, communicating the level of interest the hotel industry shows in Oak Park.
Potentially, a new hotel might give provide revenue source for nearby businesses, especially restaurants, as well as encouraging tourists to stay a little longer in Oak Park, Clements said.
“Adding hotel rooms could be a tremendous benefit to the business community,” said Loretta Daly, the village’s business services manager. Banquet and convention facilities are also desired, she said.
The hotel discussion has been going on for many years in the village, and Oak Park conducted a similar study in the past, but Clements couldn’t pinpoint exactly when.
Mike Fox, owner of the Carleton Hotel, 1110 Pleasant St,, one of two hotels currently in Oak Park, said he is just recently recovering from a “terrible downturn” in the hotel industry, which started in 2001 and didn’t level out until 2005.
Fox said the Carleton mostly feeds off Chicago. “We’re not (fully) booked unless Chicago is booked,” he said.
“Do we need another hotel? We’re not very busy [at the Carleton],”Fox said. “For those five years [following 2001], I could probably count the number of times we were (fully) booked on one hand.”
Fox would not disclose the average occupancy of his 154 rooms but said it can be very difficult to make the economics of a hotel work. However, the Carleton has survived because it’s been in Oak Park for a long time, he said.
Oak Park also has three or four bed and breakfasts, and the Write Inn, 211 N. Oak Park Ave. The Write Inn has 66 rooms. Attempts to contact the inn’s owner Monday were unsuccessful.
“We’re in support of adding hotel rooms whether in existing or new facilities,” said Rich Carollo, president and CEO of the Oak Park Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. Carollo says Oak Park could maximize tourism by keeping people overnight, which he says Oak Park can’t do with under 200 hotel rooms. “The bottom line is we need more hotel rooms and more meeting space.”
Hundreds of thousands of tourists are visiting Oak Park each year to see attractions like Unity Temple, Village Manager Tom Barwin said. The village has seen grassroots support for a new hotel, and the study is a way to “opportunity scan” and see if the village can take the desire to the next level.
“Several in this [hotel] business have expressed interest in Oak Park,” Barwin said. “It doesn’t mean anything is going to happen for sure, but it’s a credible study, and folks in the industry have taken it seriously.”