Work Progress Keeps Demolition at Bay
With the first summons filed nearly two years ago, on Oct. 12, 2024, City of Macomb vs. Western Macomb Apartments, LLC, an Evansville, IN company, which is the owner of the Macomb Inn on North Lafayette Street/U.S. 67, continues.
At another status hearing July 28 in McDonough County Circuit Court, the case was continued again to later next month. The Community News Brief reached out to Marilyn Dye of the James Kelly Law Firm in Peoria, which is representing Western Macomb Apartments, for comment and to inquire about speaking with her clients about the property; however, at press time Thursday, Dye had not responded to the inquiry.
While passersby can see that some work is being done on the property, according to City Attorney Lisa Scalf, the building and its grounds are still not up to code and in compliance with zoning requirements. Community development officials are conducting weekly inspections, she noted.
'It took some time at the beginning to get an answer from the owners, and then when they did appear in court, the judge allowed them some time to communicate their remediation plans for the property,' Scalf explained. 'At this time, there is sufficient progress occurring on remediation to continue with status appearances.'
Mayor Mike Inman said the city is working first and foremost to ensure the property will comply with the International Property Maintenance Code, which ensures a substantially safe structure. The building, which once housed the popular Holiday Inn and Gibson's Lounge, has been vacant since early- to mid-2019. It is located within a Tax Increment Finance (TIF) district and the city has provided information to the owners about the possibility of TIF funding being used to turn the structure into a viable asset. The TIF bond would allow the owners to make investments to secure a brand name hotel for the community, Inman explained.
'We're continuing to have this discussion, but it has not been fruitful to date,' he added. 'The city will continue to pursue compliance with codes through the court. Our end goal is to ensure a safe building capable of being occupied and meeting zoning requirements. We are going to continue to ask for their support to move in a direction that would be an asset for our community. Our focus is enforcement of the property maintenance code, but we certainly want to be a partner in development.'
Work done to date includes demolishing the pool, repairing potholes, painting exterior walls to remove graffiti and taking the sign down. Major electrical work is ongoing, and the property owners continue to work with Ameren before power can be restored.
'While our costs for these continued efforts from the city's side is minimal as it's part of our salaries, there is a reallocation of staffing assets so to speak. That said, this is a priority and we want to see this property occupied as it's a main entrance to our community,' Scalf mentioned 'While progress has been gradual, the owners have been communicative with us concerning the repairs and status of the work. We appreciate this communication and the efforts they are making.'
Troy Shoudel, Macomb Police Department operations commander, said at least 140 extra patrols have taken place for this property alone in recent months. He said this also does not account for other work conducting follow-up investigations and interviews, locating suspects and maintaining covert equipment for incidents that might occur on the property.
A search on the Indiana Secretary of State's business lookup website did not locate Western Macomb Apartments, LLC and its owners; however, a search of the Illinois Secretary of State's business lookup shows an active status for Western Macomb Apartments, LLC in Illinois, with a principal address through a registered agent, Northwest Registered Agent Service of Springfield, IL, which accepts legal notices and state documents for businesses.
Holiday Inn postcard from the hotels heyday.
The Macomb Inn, which was once the Holiday Inn and later the Days Inn, from 2013.
Western Macomb Apartments, LLC purchased the former hotel on Dec. 16, 2019 from JM Hotels on a warranty deed for $500,000. For tax year 2025, Western Macomb Apartments, with a tax bill address located in Evansville, IN, paid $17,137.34 in property taxes to McDonough County for the North Lafayette structure. The commercial building, which was constructed in 1968, has been sold four times since 1999 to various banks or investment companies. In 2008, it was sold for $2.5 million to Rhee Investors, Inc. from JM Kim Investors, Inc.
Workers are painting the exterior wall as part of efforts to meet zoning and code compliance requirements by the city.
