New Marriott Hotel in Naperville; Oak Park Developer Bankrupt

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Six months after the Janko Group announced the acquisition of the former Holiday Inn at 1801 Naper Boulevard, in a joint venture with the Bricton Group and a Heitman-managed real estate fund, the building was demolished to make way for a new first-class, full-service Marriott hotel. Once the $27 million renovation is complete in March 2012, the new hotel will include 425 rooms, a ballroom for over 600 people, a full-service American cuisine restaurant and a bar. The developers also plan to add 26,000 square feet of meeting space, a media room equipped with flat-screen TVs, a concierge and an outdoor patio.

Gregory Spanos, Janko Group’s director of acquisitions, declared in The Chicago Sun-Times that the hotel has infinite possibilities, adding that the site’s location is probably the best. The company is advertising to the traffic on Interstate 88 and has installed an 825-square-foot sign facing the highway.

The redevelopment project was widely welcomed by Naperville officials. John Schmidt, president and CEO of Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce, declared that the new Marriott is very important for the city, as businesses in the region can benefit from the largest amount of meeting room space in the community.

In other residential news, the developer of an Oak Park condo building filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Richard Curto, founder of RSC & Associates, listed a debt of $5.9 million owed to about 50 parties, and the amount is expected to grow because of several ongoing lawsuits and yet-to-be-received tax bills. According to OakPark.com, Richard Curto’s debt includes a $1 million mortgage to buy the Dreschler building located east of the condominium and a $1.7 million mortgage to buy five condos. Also, Curto owes $1.2 million to Trapani Construction and $148,000 to the Barnes & Thornburg law firm.