Collinsville Holiday Inn to be sold at auction
Published September 23rd, 2007
The Holiday Inn will be sold at a judicial auction next month.
Attorney Laurie Judd, of Johnston, Henderson & Pretorius law firm in Springfield and Peoria, handled the foreclosure proceedings and confirmed the auction will be held at 1 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Madison County Courthouse.
The 229-room hotel is located at 1000 Eastport Plaza Drive. It has 34 suites, banquet rooms, an indoor pool and fitness center. According to a public notice published in the News-Democrat, the sale will include the restaurant and cigar bar on the first floor.
The hotel was built after owners B.C. Gitcho and Gary Fears received a state loan of $29 million in 1982 under former Gov. Jim Thompson’s “Build Illinois” program. The two have made just two payments in the past 10 years and have paid nothing since 2002, according to the state.
When they fell behind on their payments, the partners renegotiated the deal to include a provision that they didn’t have to pay if the hotel failed to turn a profit. However, the amount in interest and principal owed on the loan ballooned to more than $30 million, and the state forced the property into receivership in January.
Paul Mann, Collinsville’s community development director, said he was surprised to learn about the auction.
“We were not expecting that,” Mann said. “We wanted to have a say so that we could bring in a reputable buyer.”
Gateway Center Executive Director Cindy Warke said the auction will enable the convention center to move forward with plans to attract a desirable bidder for the hotel.
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