Landmark Renovation on the Forefront

The City of Urbana has entered into a Letter of Intent with Maryland-based Marksons Affiliates, LLC, to renovate the Urbana Landmark Hotel and turn it into a 120-room boutique hotel, restaurant, bar and conference center with Hilton Tapestry branding.

"The City of Urbana has worked tirelessly over the last five years to find a development partner for the hotel that brings the right mix of experience, tenacity, financial resources and a balanced level of risk for the City," said Urbana Mayor Diane Wolfe Marlin. "We believe that his proposal and the team behind it is our best chance of success for this unique and historic hotel in the heart of our downtown."

The proposed project would cost a minimum of $16.8 million. The City would provide the developer with at least a $5.2 million reimbursement once the project is done through a redevelopment agreement. That would be subject to approval by the Urbana City Council. The City Council will vote on an interim agreement at its next meeting on Monday, May 20. The developer would have to buy the hotel for a price not greater than $1 million. If the City does not complete the final redevelopment agreement for the project by July 19, it would share in the cost of the developer's due diligence costs up to a maximum cost of $75,000.

"A boutique hotel is the highest and best use of this building with the most spin-off benefits for the community, our downtown businesses and the nearby University of Illinois campus and Carle Foundation Hospital," said Marlin.