Urbana's Hotel Royer on track for late summer opening

Jana Wiersema, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
·2 min read

Jun. 27—URBANA — Efforts to redevelop the 100-year-old former Urbana-Lincoln and Landmark Hotel may finally be at an end.

The property is projected to reopen as Hotel Royer late this summer, said Haaris Pervaiz, a partner with the developer, Icon Hospitality.

"It's been a long project for us, longer than originally anticipated, so we are as eager as possible to get this hotel open, ready to serve the public as soon as possible, and ideally before the start of the new school year," he said.

While most of the interior and exterior construction is complete, some of the remaining items on the to-do list include final inspections and finishing work on the elevators.

The latter has been a major challenge and delay for the project, Pervaiz said.

"We have one elevator now that's completely up and running," he said. "We've got our certificate of occupancy on that elevator. We have a second that we are waiting for the certificate of occupancy on. We have a third elevator that is completing its modernization process and should be ready for inspection soon."

The city of Urbana has committed to provide $5.5 million for the project but will not issue the bond until the hotel gets an occupancy certificate and receives final approval to operate as a Hilton Tapestry Collection property.

The developer must also obtain "equity or permanent debt financing" for "the balance of the project expenses" in order to receive the incentive, city officials said.

The city council voted in late February to approve an extension for the developer, giving them until Dec. 31 to achieve occupancy. It also amended the agreement to include a penalty: For every three months the project extends past that date, $150,000 will be subtracted from the city's $5.5 million incentive.

Aldermen previously agreed to extend the occupancy date from Dec. 31, 2022, to Aug. 31, 2023, and after that, to Feb. 29 of this year.

"Renovating a historic hotel that's a 100-year-old building and preserving that culture, preserving that richness of the property is something that takes a lot of time, takes a lot of attention," Pervaiz said. "And we have worked diligently to keep that heritage of the property and to make sure that this is the premier hotel in central Illinois."