By Carie Kuehn
NORMAL – The vacant hotel building on North Main Street in Normal will soon be holding a new name.
The hotel was originally a Sheraton, before becoming a Holiday Inn. After the Holiday Inn closed, the property remained vacant for a number of years. The Swift Hospitality Group, the owners of the property, announced construction will begin to turn the building into a Radisson hotel.
“They’ve been frustrated in their ability to secure financing up until now,” said Normal City Manager Mark Peterson. “I know they’ve worked very hard and they’re excited about the project. They think it’s a great property. They’ve had opportunities to sell it along the way and they elected not to. They want to see this through.”
A groundbreaking has been scheduled for June 21 at 11 a.m. The construction is expected to begin soon after that.
“There’s a lot of work to be done. On the outside it looks rough, but on the inside it’s a gut job. It’s almost stripped down to the bare concrete, there’s nothing there,” said Peterson. “So there’s some exterior work and a lot of interior there.”
The renovations are expected to take six to nine months.
Carie Kuehn can be contacted at carie.kuehn@cumulus.com.
