Sept. 20, 2012--EAST PEORIA

The new Marriott hotel being planned for East Peoria's riverfront won't compete for customers with the Courtyard by Marriott in Downtown Peoria, because they are different brands of Marriott, according to the developer.

"It is not unusual at all to have hotels in that close of proximity," said Jackie Edmonds, the senior regional director of sales and marketing for InterMountain Management LLC, the developer of the East Peoria hotel. "They target different clients and demographics."

The new Marriott proposal surfaced this week when the East Peoria City Council agreed on Tuesday to sell the last remaining parcel it owns on the riverfront to InterMountain. The developer, based in Monroe, La., plans to construct and operate a $9 million to $12 million, 107-room Marriott TownePlace Suites and be open in September 2014.

The council sold the property, located south of the Bob Michel Bridge and next to Granite City Food & Brewery, for $806,340. The property is in the Embassy Suites and Convention Center Development Area.

The council approved a first reading of the sale by a vote of 4-1. A second reading will be voted on at the next council meeting before the sale is officially approved by the city.

Ty Livingston, East Peoria's planning director, said the company had been interested in the property for more than a year.

TownePlace Suites, an extended stay hotel, differs from Courtyard, an upper scale, shorter stay hotel, in the amenities it offers and the customers it aims to attract. The typical TownePlace customer is an "upper-moderate tier, 'do-it-yourself,' guest traveling five-plus nights who is self-sufficient and values a simple, basic hotel experience," according to material provided by the developer. A typical length of stay is 17 days and is the choice of guests who are traveling for project work, training groups, relocation, consulting and disaster recovery.

By contrast, Courtyard is designed for the "moderate frequent business traveler who is driven by success, but also enjoys the break from routine that business travel offers," according to InterMountain.

The sale to InterMountain is the second time in the last few years that the city has earned money from the property. The city sold it to John Q. Hammons, the developer of next-door's Embassy Suites, for $500,000 and kept the money when the property reverted back to the city when a project never developed there.

Scott Hilyard can be reached at 686-3244 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @scotthilyard.

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(c)2012 the Journal Star (Peoria, Ill.)

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