President Abraham Lincoln Hotel

The President Abraham Lincoln Hotel, a DoubleTree by Hilton is a downtown hotel, in Springfield, Illinois. It is the only hotel connected to the Bank of Springfield Convention Center, via a tunnel. Because of this, it was able to be financed through loans backed by the State of Illinois. That fact would later be important when the loans were defaulted.

President Abraham Lincoln Hotel
President Abraham Lincoln Hotel, a DoubleTree by Hilton
Former namesRamada Renaissance, Renaissance Hotel, President Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center
Hotel chainHilton Worldwide
General information
TypeHotel
Location701 E. Adams St., Springfield, Illinois 62701, United States
Construction started1984
Completed1985
Height
Roof44.81 m (147 ft)
Technical details
Floor count12
Design and construction
ArchitectNagle Hartray and Associates
Other information
Number of rooms310

When the hotel opened in 1985, it was known as the Ramada Renaissance, then changed names to the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel & Conference Center in 2005. It became part of the DoubleTree by Hilton franchise in 2013.

History

The Springfield Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority (SMEAA) began planning to build a convention center in Springfield in the early 1970s. It would later become the Prairie Capital Convention Center, and ground was broken in mid 1975.[1] Prior the ground breaking, proposals were sought for a hotel to be adjacent to the Center. Of the 11 companies interested in the project, only two submitted plans.[2] In March 1979, New Frontier Development submitted the winning bid to build the 300 room hotel, at approximately $10 million.[3] Early discussions indicated that an air rights leasing deal would be made with the hotel, with rent of $120,000 per year and an exclusive catering contract with the Center.[4] The Center opened in the fall of 1979.[5]

New Frontier Development, headed by William F. Cellini, created a company known as President Lincoln Venture in order to fund the building development of the hotel.[6] President Lincoln Hotel Venture borrowed about $24 million to build and furnish the hotel. That money included the $15.5 million state-backed mortgage, the $3.1 million low-interest loan from the city through the federal urban development grant, and about $5.4 million borrowed by President Lincoln Hotel Venture from the Lyons Trust and Savings Bank of Hinsdale. In addition, the hotel developers invested about $7 million of their own money.[7]

Initial plans were for the hotel be affiliated with the Radisson Hotel chain. However, in April 1983, the decision was made to change the affiliation to Ramada, and its upscale Renaissance Hotel brand.[8] Construction began in February 1984, and Jones-Blythe, of Springfield was the General Contractor and the architect was Nagle Hartray and Associates of Chicago.[9]

Opening

Grand opening was Friday, August 30, 1985. Then-governor, Jim Thompson, was among those at the dedication ceremony. The marble floors were imported from Italy. So was the Murano-glass chandelier—the glass was originally manufactured on an island off of Venice. The Axminster carpet came from Great Britain.[10] At the time of the opening, the hotel featured two restaurants and two bars. Lindsay's Gallery, one of the two restaurants was named in honor of Springfield poet Vachel Lindsay. Displayed at the entrance to the restaurant was an 8-foot rendition of Lindsay's 1913 painting, "The Wedding of the Rose and the Lotus."[11]

The hotel's other restaurant was the Floreale Room. It featured Northern Italian cuisine and was named after the Italian word for “the flower.”[12] That restaurant would later close in August 1997.[13] The Globe Tavern, an upper-level bar, is named after the Springfield inn where Abraham Lincoln once stayed.

Two suites furnished with rare antiques cost $275 per night. Rooms started at $65 per night. The average construction cost of the 320-room, $28.5 million hotel was $89,000 per room.[10]

Problems with debt

While the hotel made payments to its state loan initially, it fell behind in payments just two years after opening.[14] In 1990, the state restructured the loan to require payments only when the hotel make a profit.[15] In 1997 regular payments stop; two payments of less than $143,000 are made in 2002.[16]

In February 1997, Marriott bought the Renaissance chain, dropping the word Ramada from its name.[17] However, Marriott fails to renew the franchise agreement in 2005, and the hotel name is changed to the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center.[18]

The state forecloses on the property in 2008, with principal and interest totaled $30 million, according to the state treasurer's office.[19] State treasurer's office takes over the property as part of foreclosure proceedings. A court-appointed receiver, Hostmark Hospitality Group,[20] formally took over operations of the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center, prompting Gov. Rod Blagojevich to lift a ban on state employees staying there.[21] The state spent $375,000 on improvements, including new furnishings and mattress replacements.[22]

Sale to Horve

In 2009, the state put the hotel up for sale, there were five bidders. Steve Horve, whose family also owns hotels in Decatur, Forsyth and Champaign, as well as one in Dearborn, Mich., submitted a successful bid of $6.5 million for the 315-room hotel.[23]

The sale was finalized in January 2010, and Mr. Horve began improvements to the hotel within a few months. The renovations took nearly 2 years, and included replacing all the laundry equipment.

In 2013, the hotel joined Hilton Worldwide, as a DoubleTree by Hilton property.[24] The name of the hotel was “soft branded” as The President Abraham Lincoln Hotel, a DoubleTree by Hilton. Around the same time, the Prairie Capital Convention Center finished a two-year upgrade to its facilities.[25]

Sale to Al Habtoor Group

Al Habtoor Group, headed by multi-billionaire Khalaf Ahmad al Habtoor, made an unsolicited bid to buy the hotel in October 2014.[26] Horve decided to sell the hotel to concentrate on his other hotel projects, including construction of a Home 2 extended-stay hotel by Hilton in Champaign. According to the Sangamon County recorder's office, Al Habtoor paid $9.3 million.[27]

This is the first hotel Al Habtoor Group owns in the United States. Al Habtoor made his fortune in the construction business.[28] Al Habtoor Group now has expanded to include hotel, automotive, real estate, education, insurance and publishing businesses worldwide, according to the company website.[29] A decision was made to allow Hilton Management Services to operate the hotel.

Former Lincoln Hotel

This is the second hotel in Springfield to be named after the 16th President. Another 13 story hotel, known as the Abraham Lincoln Hotel, opened in 1926 and closed for business in 1964.[30] It was torn down in a controlled implosion on December 17, 1978.[31] The building was destroyed to make way for a courts complex, which never materialized.[32] To this day, the lot remains vacant and undeveloped.

Facilities and amenities

The building is 12 stories, and contains 310 guest rooms. The layout of the floors is:

  • The first floor (street level) contains the lobby, front desk, a small gift shop. It also has the Presidential Ballroom, Lindsay's Restaurant (breakfast), The Globe Tavern (lunch and dinner), and the Lincoln meeting room.
  • The second floor contains meeting rooms, and the hotel's executive offices. It is connected to the first floor via a grand staircase.
  • Floors 3 through 12 are guest floors.
  • The Concourse level includes the Fitness Center (open 24 hours), an indoor swimming pool, and a tunnel which connects directly to the Convention Center.

References
  1. Halverson, John (Aug 7, 1975). "Convention center to be named 'Prairie Capital'". State Journal-Register.
  2. "SMEAA draws replies from hotel developers". State Journal-Register. Feb 18, 1975.
  3. Farrar, Fletcher (May 13, 1982). "New hotel, but when?". The Illinois Times.
  4. Halverson, John (Aug 29, 1975). "SMEA okays revised design". The State Journal-Register.
  5. "Problems to haunt opening of center". State Journal-Register. Oct 28, 1979.
  6. Finke, Doug (Nov 15, 1983). "Houston: Renaissance Hotel may finally be ready to go". State Journal-Register.
  7. Carsten, Carol (Nov 22, 1988). "Council OKs hotel". The State Journal-Register.
  8. Bankston, Karen (Apr 27, 1983). "Hotel grant incurs Langfelder's wrath".
  9. Weaver, Doug (Feb 17, 1984). "Renaissance to give city new angle on big conventions". State Journal-Register.
  10. Skaugen, Cindy (Aug 31, 1985). "Renaissance opens -- proud and expensive". State Journal-Register.
  11. "Lindsay works highlighted in new restaurant". State Journal-Register. Oct 3, 1985.
  12. Stephens, Joe (Oct 18, 1985). "The Ramada Renaissance / beckoning to the Springfield of Lincoln's era". State Journal-Register.
  13. Fargo, Charlyn (Aug 6, 1997). "Floreale Restaurant to close". State Journal-Register.
  14. Fitzgerald, Jay (Jul 10, 1987). "Ramada owners seek loan refinancing". State Journal-Register.
  15. Finke, Doug (Feb 20, 1990). "Ramada Renaissance loans being reworked again". State Journal-Register.
  16. Bush, Bill (Dec 5, 1997). "Ruling expected in Topinka case against hotel". State Journal-Register.
  17. Landis, Tim (Feb 19, 1997). "Marriott acquires Renaissance franchise". State Journal-Register.
  18. Piscia, Jason (Aug 26, 2005). "Renaissance cuts Marriott ties / New name will be President Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center". State Journal-Register.
  19. Finke, Douge (Jan 17, 2008). "City, PCCC to lose money on hotel". State Journal-Register.
  20. Colindres, Adriana (Oct 20, 2009). "Lincoln Hotel to be put up for auction". State Journal-Register.
  21. Finke, Doug (Mar 2, 2007). "Lincoln hotel gets new operator / Governor lifts ban on state workers staying there". State Journal-Register.
  22. Landis, Tim (Nov 1, 2009). "Treasurer's office banking on investors for Lincoln Hotel". State Journal-Register.
  23. Landis, Tim (Dec 15, 2009). "President Abraham Lincoln Hotel sells for $6.5 million". State Journal-Register.
  24. Dettro, Chris (Jun 7, 2013). "Hotel to get DoubleTree brand - President Lincoln to be Hilton franchisee". State Journal-Register.
  25. Landis, Tim (Dec 30, 2009). "State gives final OK on Lincoln Hotel sale". The State Journal-Register.
  26. Landis, Tim (Dec 3, 2014). "President Abraham Lincoln Hotel - Dubai company buying property - Decatur developer purchased the hotel in 2009". State Journal-Register.
  27. "What's it worth?". The Illinois Times. Feb 12, 2015.
  28. Rushton, Bruce (Dec 2, 2014). "Billionaire buys downtown hotel - Deal for Abraham Lincoln hotel to close in two weeks". The Illinois Times.
  29. "Al Habtoor Group".
  30. "Abraham Lincoln Hotel closes down". Daily Illinois Journal. Jun 30, 1964.
  31. Lindstrom, Andy (Dec 18, 1978). "Abe's walls come tumbling down". State Journal-Register.
  32. "Picturing the Past". State Journal-Register. Dec 13, 2003.

Further reading
  • Camper, John (Mar 22, 1988). "State Bails Out 3 Luxury Hotels". Chicago Tribune. p. 1.
  • Pearson, Rick (Jan 15, 1991). "Cosentino alters 2 state loans". Chicago Tribune. p. 4.
  • Browning, Daniel R. (Apr 17, 1992). "2 Hotels in Default on Loans from Illinois, Treasurer Says". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 12A.
  • "How the Hotel Loan Controversy Unfolded". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. May 25, 1995. p. 1.
  • McDermott, Kevin (Jul 4, 1997). "Illinois Goes After Controversial Hotels They're Skimping on Payments, Treasurer Says". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 9A.
  • McDermott, Kevin (Nov 1, 1997). "Illinois Sues Over Loans for 2 Hotels". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 14:4.
  • Young, Renee (Apr 1998). "Shouldering the load". Building Design & Construction.
  • McKinney, Dave (Nov 7, 2005). "Guv puts squeeze on hotel to pay state debt: Off-limits for most state business until $27.5 million paid". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 10.
  • "How to profit from failure". Chicago Tribune. May 28, 2007. p. 1.22.
  • Meitrodt, Jeffrey (Jan 17, 2008). "Hotel's owners end fight with state". Chicago Tribune. p. 2C.4.
  • Shields, Nick (Mar 5, 2008). "State takes over hotel". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, Illinois. p. 9.
  • Reid, Tony (Dec 16, 2009). "Horve confident he can turn around Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center". Herald & Review. Decatur, Illinois.
  • "UAE's Al Habtoor eyes deal for President Lincoln Hotel". Arabian Business. Dec 3, 2014.

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