Historic Downtown will be one area considered for boutique hotel
Photo by Marney Simon | Enterprise Staff
Historic downtown Plainfield already brings in visitors with unique shops and restaurants. The area will be one considered in a new hotel feasibility study approved by the village board. The study will look at downtown, as well as areas along the north, south, and eastern boundaries of the village, to identify areas where a boutique hotel could be successful.
By Marney Simon | Enterprise Staff
The village of Plainfield will invest some cash in a study to see if the area could benefit from a boutique hotel.
On Oct. 16, village trustees approved a contract not to exceed $9,500 with TR Mandigo and Company of Elmhurst, to conduct a feasibility study for a potential hotel.
The study would provide data and details necessary to find the strengths and weaknesses of the village in terms of adding a hotel.
“It’s been a real plan of focus and emphasis for our planning staff and our economic development manager,” said Director of Planning Jonathan Proulx. “We’re really excited and encouraged that we’ve had some interest recently, including hosting [meetings] with two different developers looking at specific locations and specific opportunities here in Plainfield. We think the timing is very important and very exciting.”
The hotel feasibility study has been part of ongoing business recruitment efforts for village staff. Over the past 18-months, staff has approached several hotel development groups to gauge their interest in the village. Those developers each requested a feasibility study be conducted.
Staff noted that a hotel could support local businesses that may attract workers or customers who need to stay in the area occasionally, including Diageo, Logoplaste, and Warehouse: 109.
While Plainfield is slightly smaller than most towns considered by large hotel groups for development of a hotel, the village does have specific amenities that warrant a study.
The study will identify potential hotel sites, collect information on supply and demand, and identify economic development trends in the village.
Four main sites will be considered – Historic downtown; Route 30 at I-55, and the north and south corridor of Route 59.
“Part of the study… would be identifying these sites and ranking them in the best order of likelihood that they would be developed,” said Economic Development Manager Jake Melrose. “What is the region garnering in terms of what types of hotels, what are their occupancy rates. They’ll actually come out and do inspections of local hotel properties and interviews with the general managers. They’ll [gather] all this data, all the trends, all the economic and demographic trends of our community, and they’ll create a competitive hotel analysis.”
Trustees were pleased with the idea of a feasibility study, which should be useful even if the population and demographics start to shift.
“I think it fills in a gap in our knowledge of how to develop the town,” said Trustee Bill Lamb. “This is an area that we’ve talked about but we really don’t have the expertise. I view this, if you have a problem, you go see a doctor, they tell you what your problem is and what to look for. I think we’re going to find out what to look for with this document. We may not be ready yet, but at least we’ll know what to look for and what to build on.”
The cost of the study is included in the special projects fund. TIF funds may also become available for the study, if the area looked into falls within a TIF district.
“We really think this effort would be a great investment of significant value in trying to attract a boutique hotel that would really compliment some of the other things we have here in the downtown area,” Proulx said.
Proulx also noted that there was limited risk to the village in seeking out the study, which will also identify potential weaknesses for hotel development. If a hotel within the village limit does not seem feasible, TR Mandigo and Company will halt further investigation into the matter.