Former Illiana Hotel • A Note From the Mayor

Monday, October 9, 2017

Recently, a large piece of the stone work from the upper façade of the former Illiana Hotel (corner of Atchison and 119th) fell to the ground. Immediately after the event, the sidewalk was roped off for public safety reasons. This event now effectively ends the City’s three year attempt to find a development partner to renovate the building to save the historic structure. The expense to repair this new damage would have added significant additional cost to a project that was already universally viewed as cost prohibitive. Armed with these facts, I have made the decision that razing the building is now the best course of action and the City Building Commissioner has declared an emergency which will allow for its prompt demolition. We will notify the property owners in the vicinity once the demotion schedule has been determined.

Note: The City took ownership of this building via the property tax sale process in late 2014. Since that time, City officials have shown the property to dozens of potential developers with the intention of partnering on its restoration with no success.

-Mayor Joe Stahura