Cutting building costs could help downtown Champaign hotel project get off ground

Deb Pressey, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
·2 min read

Mar. 3—CHAMPAIGN — It's been more than six years since a hotel project was launched at the corner of Neil and Hill streets in downtown Champaign.

What's taking so long?

According to developer Doug Altenberger, a major source of the delay has been rising building costs.

But he says this vacant, fenced-in lot on the northern edge of downtown is still going to become home to a Marriott Aloft hotel.

"I'm more motivated than anybody to get this thing done," he said.

The hotel initially planned for this property at 401 N. Neil St. was a Best Western Hotel Vib, before the property changed hands and Altenberger took over as developer in 2018.

The hotel was originally planned to open at the end of 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic got in the way of a construction start. In July 2021, Altenberger said he hoped to see the hotel open by Christmas 2022.

"Construction costs keep going up and up, and that has been part of the challenge the last six months," he said Wednesday.

Plans for a 130-room Aloft hotel haven't changed, Altenberger said, but rising costs have made it necessary to redesign part of the building.

That process was started last fall, he said, "but it's taken time."

The Aloft project was initially projected to run $20 million, but higher prices for materials have made this a $28 million project, Altenberger said.

He doesn't expect the total cost to drop back down to $20 million again, he said, but he does hope to trim the $28 million estimate by finding ways to save on steel, concrete and other building materials, he said.

"We want to do a first-rate Marriott Aloft. I think the market would support it, but we've got to get our costs in line," he said.

One positive is a brighter revenue picture, with room rates rebounding to pre-pandemic levels, Altenberger said.

Rob Kowalski, Champaign's assistant planning and development director, said city staff has continued to be in contact with Altenberger and remains hopeful that the hotel will be built.

Marriott's Aloft chain currently has more than 210 locations worldwide.

According to a description from the Aloft website, "we are the next generation of hotel, using technology and design to enhance experiences and move at the pace of our guests."