'A town so nice, Lincoln stayed twice.' – quote from the late Macomb resident Jayne Clark.
The nation's 16th president stayed at what was known as the Randolph House Hotel – considered to be one of the best hotels between Chicago and St. Louis back in the day – on the east side of Macomb's Downtown Square, on Aug.
25, 1858 and a few months later on Oct. 25, when he was stumping for Senate against his rival, Stephen Douglas. The site also became a place for mourners to pay their respects following Lincoln's assassination. Because of his connection to Macomb and McDonough County, the county is officially designated as an Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area. As part of this, 'Visiting Unforgettable Forgottonia' (dba the Macomb Convention and Visitors Bureau/MACVB), has a 'Looking for Lincoln Self-Guided Tour, which includes 169-year-old The Randolph House and nine other sites throughout related to the 16th president's connection to 'Forgottonia.'
The City of Macomb used TIF funding totaling $215,000 to purchase the building from the current owners, Adam Aschinger and Valarie Nguyen. Aschinger's half currently houses Spellbound Stories, while Nguyen's half houses The Nail Salon. According to Macomb Mayor Inman, the two businesses will continue to reside in their respective spaces, paying rent to the City of Macomb until a developer takes over and decides what to do with the building. City leaders are looking for a developer or developers interested in purchasing and renovating the property into a 'boutique' style hotel or other site dedicated to the county's rich history; however, other projects won't be ruled out, he noted.
'This was really a majestic building at one time, and over the years, it has changed. The city had a desire to acquire this site, which is historically significant, and redevelop it to align with our city's tourism and downtown development efforts,' the mayor explained.
The initial process actually began a few years ago under then-Community Development Coordinator John Bannon, who began exploring options for the city to purchase The Randolph House to keep it from falling into disrepair. He worked with a consultant who has experience in historic buildings and redeveloping the structures. The goal is to have the RFP out to prospective developers by late summer.
'We will look for private development partners to make improvements to the structural deficiencies we've seen and make these multiple story buildings more viable,' Inman added. 'It's our intent to put this building out to interested developers, and provide incentives, much like we did with TJMaxx and Hobby Lobby, to make this an attractive project for someone to take on.'
According to Inman, no taxpayer dollars were used to purchase The Randolph House, and the consultant, who is part of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is providing assistance at no cost to the city to assist leaders in developing a request for purchase (RFP) for the historic edifice. Inman also noted the TIF (Tax Increment Finance) fund continues to be healthy.
'The more redevelopment that occurs, the healthier that fund gets,' he pointed out. 'This allows us to invest in projects and programs that make our community better. The Lamoine, on the northeast corner just off of downtown, is a perfect example of a successful TIF project.'
In Illinois, TIF dollars can be used to pay for public and private redevelopment project costs within designated districts, aiming to revitalize blighted or underperforming areas. Eligible uses include public infrastructure (roads, sewers, streetscapes), land assembly, building demolition, rehabilitation, environmental cleanup and professional services.
