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Hotel group breaks ground on Holiday Inn

Posted September 13, 2015 11:00 pm

By Pete Spitler Staff Writer

EDITOR'S NOTE: To see the full video interview with James Best and Paul Martin, see the Herald Tribune's Facebook page.

With a few short words and the turning of dirt, construction on the new Holiday Inn Express in Chester officially began on Monday.

James Best and Paul Martin of The Chester Hotel Group were accompanied by Chester Mayor Tom Page for the groundbreaking ceremony at the future hotel's location on Lehmen Drive across from Bert's Auto Services near the Chester Center.

"Relieved," said Best, when asked how he felt to put shovels in the ground after four years of development limbo. "It's a process. It can be exhausting, frustrating and at times even irritating.

"But it's something everybody goes through. You don't just say 'Let's build a hotel' and go out and do it."

Also present for the ceremony were Marvin Hayden and Marty Simard, both of Vip Remodeling and Construction Inc., the general contractor for the project. Hayden is the hotel project's construction manager.

Martin, who owns Vip Remodeling and Construction, told the Herald Tribune that site preparation could begin at the end of this week or possibly early next week for an anticipated Spring 2016 completion.

He said a contractor for the dirt work has not yet been chosen, but they are looking at local companies.

The $5 million, three-story hotel will feature 65 beds, indoor pool, convention center and workout facility. It is anticipated to create 12 or 13 permanent jobs, plus two or three part-time jobs.

"It happened quicker than I thought because we were having so much trouble before," Best said. "We got some help and direction from Chuck Keller from up in Effingham.

"He's got a hotel management group and they're going to manage the hotel."

Keller is co-operator of Keller Enterprises of Effingham, which operates nine hotels in three different states. According to media reports, the Keller family has operated hotels and conference centers for more than 50 years.

"He's the one that steered us toward maybe doing a Holiday Inn Express rather than a Microtel," Martin said of Keller. "Because Holiday Inn Express is a much superior hotel and he thought it would do a lot better down here.

"After we really took a look at it, we found out it would do better down here instead of a Microtel just because of the dynamic of the city itself."

Martin said one change from the group's previous attempt to build the Microtel in 2011 is that the economy has started to improve.

"The economy has started to change some," he said. "When it comes to certain lenders and people looking at hotels and various things differently, it does help further things along.

"I think, at one point, there was a little bit of hesitancy about a lot of different things and it's changed. It's been a lot better."

Best said the project is being financed through First Clover Leaf Bank, which has offices in Edwardsville, Wood River, Highland and Swansea.

The Chester City Council has not yet approved a new Tax Increment Financing (TIF) agreement with The Chester Hotel Group, tabling a TIF agenda item at its Sept. 8 meeting.

Page told the Herald Tribune that the council will take the issue back up during its regular meeting on Monday.

According to a 2013 U.S. hotel franchise fee guide by HVS Global Hospitality Services, the initial franchise fee for a Holiday Inn Express was $102,500 for mid-rate hotels (based upon 200 rooms) with a royalty fee of more than $2.9 million.

"They did their due diligence," Best said of Holiday Inn representatives. "You don't just get a license from them without your group going through their process, which is pretty thorough.

"They came down here and did their own survey of the area - of course we supplied them with a feasibility study, which was about 225 pages - and from that, they derived certain things they wanted to take a further look at and when they got back to us, they thought it was a great idea."

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