Naperville officials, inching along in negotiations with two developers competing for a hotel and conference center, decided Tuesday that talks could continue with both parties without the firms choosing a brand name for the hotel.
Last month, the City Council narrowed the choices for developers from four to two, Hinsdale-based Harp Krug Venture LLC and Seymour N. Logan Associates, the developer who owns the Naperville Holiday Inn Select.
Both firms were asked to provide a letter of intent with a hotel brand that meets the three- or four-star criteria within a 60-day negotiation period. But the council Tuesday agreed to loosen the terms to allow the developers to only commit to providing a three- or four-star hotel.
Some council members were concerned that if they moved ahead without a brand name they wouldn’t know what kind of hotel they would end up with. But the council does have final say on what brand hotel can be built, Councilman James Boyajian said.
The council also agreed to extend the deadline for Seymour N. Logan Associates to submit a letter of understanding and intent for the project to noon Friday.
Harp Krug is proposing building a new $77.5 million, 13-story hotel and conference center with 300 rooms and 35,000 square feet of meeting space on 14 acres at the northwest corner of Diehl Road and Bellemeade Drive.
The plan also shows restaurants, retail shops and a bank on outlots.
The Holiday Inn Select owners are proposing expanding their existing meeting room space to enlarge the ballroom to accommodate more than 1,000 people and upgrade ballroom entrances.
The $2.1 million proposal does not include additional hotel rooms, because the facility has more than 400 rooms.
The proposal does not include developing additional outlots and it does not request any financial incentives of the city. But the developer is asking the city to place a 10-year moratorium on any new construction of hotel rooms or conference centers.
The council Tuesday also reaffirmed that it was not in favor of a building moratorium on hotels in the area and would reimburse the losing party its $50,000 performance bond that was required by the city during negotiations.
