Pere Marquette Hotel in downtown Peoria sells to Texas developer

Peoria's Pere Marquette Hotel and the adjoining Courtyard by Marriott Hotel have been sold.

Shreem Capital, an investment firm out of Texas, purchased the properties at 533 Main Street and 501 Main Street in downtown Peoria for roughly $18.5 million. The parking garage was purchased for $1.5 million.

Shreem Capital announced the sale in a post on LinkedIn, saying "These new additions align perfectly with our commitment to offering exceptional hospitality experiences and we can't wait to welcome guests to our Shreem family and create unforgettable experiences together."

The Pere Marquette Marriott has 286 rooms, the Courtyard by Marriott has 116 rooms, and the parking garage has space for 402 vehicles.

More: From parking to a new street, how Peoria's Warehouse District will change in 2024

History of Peoria's Pere Marquette Hotel

The 14-story Pere Marquette Hotel was designed by Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer and was built in 1926. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

The National Register of Historic Places lists the Pere Marquette's significance as this:

"The property is significant because the Pere Marquette is an authentic surviving representative of the grand architectural style and ornate public spaces which characterized the leading Eastern hotels of the Roaring 20's era, nearly all of which have either been demolished or altered beyond recognition."

When the Peoria Civic Coliseum burned down in the year 1900, local business leaders began to push hard for a new "first-class" hotel to be built in Peoria. In 1924, the seeds for the Pere Marquette were planted.

A contest was launched in Peoria to name the new hotel and they received 21,000 names. The person who submitted "Pere Marquette" was awarded a $50 prize for the winning submission, according to the National Register of Historic Places.

Trumbauer, a nationally recognized architect at the time, was selected for the project. It is said he designed the floor plan for the Pere Marquette with the famous Waldorf of New York City in mind.

Famous muralist George Harding was also contracted to paint two murals inside Peoria's new hotel in the 1920s. Harding painted French explorer Robert De La Salle departing Rockport, France, in 1684 and a Pimiteoui Indian village in 1673.

The 1927 grand opening event of the Pere Marquette was called one of the "biggest Gala events" in the history of Peoria at the time. Over 16,000 people are said to have toured the new hotel during its open house.

In 1961, a grand ballroom was added to the hotel. Then in 1971, Hilton bought the hotel.

An uncertain 21st century

The 21st century has not been particularly kind to the Pere Marquette, however. The historic building has been sold, faced bankruptcy and now is mired in an ongoing court case in which two former developers of the property are accused of defrauding the city out of millions of dollars.

Marriott bought the hotel in 2013, and the adjoining Courtyard by Marriott opened in 2014.

In 2018, the hotel was facing bankruptcy after developers Monte Brannan and Gary Matthews, the two accused of defrauding Peoria, fell behind on payments. Marriott threatened to pull its affiliation from the hotels and eventually INDURE Build-to-Core Fund bought the property for $39 million in a bankruptcy sale.

Brannan and Matthews are accused of moving $750,000 of hotel funds to themselves following the building's foreclosure. Prosecutors also say they also took roughly $1.6 million away from the hotel for their own pockets.

In 2022, the hotel underwent major renovations inside, which hoped to restore the "grandeur" of the historic building.

Brannan in October of 2023 pleaded guilty to three felony charges connected to the Pere Marquette.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Downtown Peoria hotels sold to Texas developer