PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — As two former developers stand trial for fraud related to the redevelopment of Peoria’s oldest hotel, a company from Texas announced they bought the historic building, a neighboring hotel and a parking deck.
Shreem Capital announced on their LinkedIn page last week that it purchased the Pere Marquette, the Courtyard by Marriott and also a 400-space parking deck that sits near the Peoria Civic Center. The total price for all three parcels was $20 million, according to records from the Peoria County Clerk’s Office.
The sale was effective Oct. 12, according to the real estate documents. According to Shreem, the Pere Marquette has 286 rooms while the Courtyard has 116 rooms.
Shreem, which is based in Richardson, Texas, said the hotels “align perfectly with our commitment to offering exceptional hospitality experiences and we can’t wait to welcome guests to our Shreem family and create unforgettable experiences together.”
The purchase price, however, is far less — nearly half — of what INDURE Build-to-Core Fund, one of the primary investors in the redevelopment, paid when the hotels went into foreclosure. A few years ago, INDURE paid about $38 million for the properties.
The announcement will likely have little effect on the day-to-day operations of the hotels. Both are still flagged as Marriott properties and both have continued to operate throughout the past five years when the former developers, Gary Mathews and Monte Brannan, filed for bankruptcy and then were indicted for fraud.
Both are beginning the third week of their federal trial. Brannan pleaded guilty Friday to lesser counts that stated he hid assets during the hotels’ bankruptcy proceedings. Ironically, the pleas came in a first-floor courtroom at Peoria’s federal courthouse that is caddy-corner from the room where bankruptcy hearings are heard. The entire building is directly across the street from the hotels involved in the fraud case.
