The Holiday Inn Express and Suites in downtown Aurora could soon be sold.
The hotel at 111 N. Broadway, which was the first hotel to open in 40 years in downtown Aurora when it was built as a Comfort Inn in 1995, could soon have a new owner, according to city officials.
To facilitate the sale, the city is being asked to reassign an incentive agreement between current owner Rocky Pintozzi to the new owner. It is in regard to a $500,000 loan the city made to the hotel when it remodeled and converted to a Holiday Inn and Suites in 2015.
“Nothing changes, except the owner changes,” said a city official.
The original deal between the city and Midwest Management IL, Inc., which operated the Comfort Suites at 111 N. Broadway, was a rebate of the Hotel Occupancy Tax of $500,000. It was to be given out on a pay-as-you-go basis, with the hotel getting reimbursed as it incurred costs of renovation into a new hotel brand.
However, when the hotel bid its costs for the project, it came out $750,000 more than expected – making the entire cost about $3 million. While hotel officials did not ask for any more than the $500,000, they said getting the money upfront would give them a better chance of structuring their financing needed for the overall project.
Under the new agreement, the city paid $250,000 to Midwest Management on the condition it secured financing. The additional $250,000 was paid when construction started.
The hotel has been paying back the $500,000 since 2015 at 4.5% annually, according to Alex Minella, of the city’s Economic Development office. He spoke about the reassignment to members of the City Council’s Finance Committee recently.
The payments will continue through 2025, but now with the prospective new owner. Minella said about $206,000 still is owed.
The change in brand also increased the amount of Hotel Occupancy Tax generated each year.
“It’s been a success story,” the city official said. “It is making some money.”
Aldermen appeared to agree with the reassignment of the tax agreement at last Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, putting it on the consent agenda for the regular council meeting coming up on Tuesday night. That means it is likely to be approved.
During last week’s meeting, Ald. John Laesch, at large, asked why the current owner is selling. He asked if the relocation of Hollywood Casino from downtown to near Interstate 88 might hurt the hotel’s business.
David Dibo, the city’s chief economic development officer, said the casino “is not a material part of his business.”
When the deal was done in 2015, hotel ownership said all downtown attractions were contributors to their clientele, but they singled out the Two Brothers Roundhouse wedding trade and RiverEdge Park across the street as major parts of their business.
Minella said the prospective new owner appears ready to continue the hotel’s success.
“The city has already talked to the new prospective owner,” Minella said. “He meets our standards to be a real player in the downtown.”
