News
New Marriott Courtyard open; downtown hotel complex complete
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- Published on Friday, 18 July 2014 20:10
- Written by Paul Gordon
The last piece of the complex that developers now call Civic Center Square opened on Friday and convention planners say the potential payoff is limitless.
The Marriott Courtyard Downtown opened at noon Friday with little fanfare but not without much excitement from the staff. Connected to the Marriott Hotel Pere Marquette and the Peoria Civic Center that new hotel and its 116 rooms ̶ bringing the total number of rooms in the complex to 402 ̶ gives the city a true convention hotel, said Joe LoMonaco, managing director of Civic Center Square.
Hired by owner/developer EM Properties, he now is an employee of First Hospitality Corp., which assumed management of the complex on Friday, as well.
With 30-plus years in the hotel business in many cities larger than Peoria, LoMonaco believes the complex concept will work well in a city the size of Peoria and he is confident Civic Center Square will be a success because of what it brings to the city.
“This allows us to compete at the same level with much larger cities that have hotels connected to the civic center-type buildings. Peoria will appeal to many because it isn’t as large but offers the same amenities,” LoMonaco said.
“It’s a Marriott hotel, which is a very strong brand, and it has first-rate management with First Hospitality, which is a certified provider to Marriott and has been for many years. We have a very strong team in place and we’re ready to go.”
The opening was the culmination of many years planning and building the $90 million-plus complex that started with the renovation of the Hotel Pere Marquette, the razing of several buildings along Main Street and the construction of the Marriott Courtyard, all started by EM Properties founder and president Gary Matthews.
Jim Wetherington, general manager of the Peoria Civic Center, said he is very enthused about the opening of the Courtyard and completion of the complex. “I can’t begin to tell you how pleased we are to have such quality hotels as the Pere and Courtyard connected to our building. That is something almost all conventions require now and this will open the door to many new clients that were not available to us before,” he said.
Wetherington said the Civic Center already has a high retention rate among its clients; the addition of a connected hotel complex brings that even higher.
Don Welch, president of the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and former general manager of the Civic Center, has for many years been talking about the importance of having a connected hotel or hotels. “It took a long time but it’s here now and we are super excited about it. We’re now anxiously awaiting the re-opening of the 4 Points and we’ll really be in good shape,” he said, referring to the 4 Points by Sheraton hotel a block from Civic Center Square that is currently closed while undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation.
Welch said his organization already is reaping the benefits of the complex because it sells conventions a few years into the future. Being able to demonstrate that the connection to the Civic Center was really going to happen, particularly after the Pere Marquette reopened after its own multi-million dollar renovation, got Peoria into many new doors and clients, he said. “Now that the Courtyard and the skywalk connecting the hotels to the Civic Center are open, we have a really great selling tool,” he said.
Another plus, Welch said, is one the average person won’t recognize but that conventioneers will: the management of First Hospitality. “They are well known and Joe LoMonaco and his team are great. They understand the community and clientele. It’s great to have them on board,” he said.
LoMonaco is no stranger to Peoria. Part of his previous hotel experience was with the John Q. Hammons Hotels company and while with that firm he opened the Embassy Suites in East Peoria. That’s when he came to know Peoria and many of its people. “Whenever I come back here, it’s like seeing family again. I really love Peoria and its people. So when I got the call, it really was easy to say yes,” he said.
He likes the concept of “complexing” and is ready for the challenge of making it work here, he said. “It’s an experiment in a smaller metro area like Peoria. I think we’ll show it can work very well,” he said.
LoMonaco didn’t venture a guess on what the first real test for the complex will be but said the next 90 days will be crucial to work out any kinks. “It usually takes that long to really get everything into place and working smoothly. But we have people here who are already vested in making it succeed, people who want to be here. We have a full sales and catering team in place, people who know Peoria and have the experience. That is important,” he said.
Heading up the sales and marketing team for Civic Center Square is Mary Jo Schettler, who directed sales and marketing for the Par-A-Dice Hotel for many years.
The two hotels are separate entities but do share some amenities. Chief among them is the swimming pool and hot tub. Both are in the Courtyard but Pere Marquette guests are free to use them. Also, they share the parking deck and the skywalk to the Civic Center. Common areas of each are open to the other, as well.
The new Courtyard doesn’t have a full-service restaurant such as the Pere Marquette’s Table 19, but it has a Bistro, which LoMonaco described as a “deli with a bar” in that it is largely sandwiches and salads with alcohol.
The Great Room where Courtyard guests check in has free wi-fi services and a business center. It also has smaller media centers with a sofa, table, small television and computer hookups.
This hotel also has what LoMonaco said is “the centerpiece of a Courtyard.” That is a large touch-screen computer that gives a person about as much information as they need, whether it be personalized needs such as whether flights in and out of the Gen. Wayne Downing International Airport are on time or general information such as news, sports and weather headlines. It even gives information and directions to local restaurants and other places of interest around the area.
“It is more or less a computerized concierge. There’s nothing like it. Our guests will love it,” he said.
Anywhere you go around the Civic Center Square complex you will hear music ̶ even coming from the light poles outside. That, too, is part of the complex concept, he said.
As for the name Civic Center Square, it was chosen by EM Properties as a way to tie the buildings of the complex together with the Civic Center. There are still many retail spaces connected to the new 400-plus space parking deck to be leased that will further tie them together, LoMonaco said.
While he didn’t give names, he said there are a few new restaurants and retailers coming that will be announced soon. “Peoria won’t be disappointed,” he said.
