The Villager Inn, 1715 W. North St., was purchased in December at a cost of $1.7 million using American Rescue Plan Act money. City officials declared the property a public nuisance Aug. 18 and paid $125,000 for a company to demolish it Aug. 19 after officials said the building was no longer useful for refurbishment and repurposing as a shelter.
O’Neill said he’s received numerous phone calls and had multiple citizens approach him about the city’s purchases of the Villager Inn and the Executive Inn, which the city paid $1.34 million in ARPA money to obtain early this year as a short-term solution to address needs of the homeless.
The Executive Inn building, too, experienced plumbing issues recently, requiring six families to be relocated to local hotels while repairs were completed. Work to bring more of the 75 units there into use as temporary housing has been behind schedule.
“We spent an awful lot of money,” O’Neill said. “I have to agree with Commissioner David Estrop, who at our last meeting stated that the project we were embracing was a good project and could still be a good project. However, when you see appraisals as high as these came in, which the people of Springfield feel are really grossly above what the properties are worth, they deserve to have an audit and make sure.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
The purchase prices of both hotels were based upon appraisals conducted by Martin + Wood Appraisal Group, which at the time assessed both properties as in average condition.
“The facilities have been adequately maintained. The mechanical systems are considered to be adequate for the use,” the report stated. “Hence, overall the subject improvements are considered to be of moderately favorable functional utility in terms of size and design as a lodging facility.”
‘It’s just good business’
O’Neill said appraisal companies have liability insurance “in case they have made a mistake,” O’Neill said.
“For a very small amount of money, we can have these appraisals audited, and I feel that we should do so. I’ve asked the city manager and finance director to arrange for this audit, and if any monies are due us, we can go after those monies. It’s just good business, in my opinion,” he said.
According to the appraisal report, Martin + Wood did not perform complete tests of mechanical equipment, plumbing or electrical components, as they were not required or requested.
A Springfield News-Sun public records request to the city seeking inspection reports of the buildings generated this response from the city: “There were no inspections received in late 2022 or early 2023 as the city was buying the property.”
O’Neill said the process of purchasing the hotels moved quickly because of the homeless crisis the city faced.
“We had a homeless problem since just before COVID … It’s not that the project was bad, it’s just that we need to make sure we did the right thing with your money,” O’Neill said, referring to citizen tax dollars. “We need to make sure we are on solid ground, even if it’s a little high, so we can look citizens in the eye and say, ‘We looked at this, and we did our due diligence.’”
City Manager Bryan Heck told commissioners the Villager Inn, which consisted of four building structures and roughly 140 rooms, was demolished. The city now will seek bids for site preparation to remove the remaining slabs, footings and asphalt in the near future so officials can consider redevelopment options for the site, he said.
City officials continue to work through the insurance claim process on the Villager Inn property in hopes of recovering a portion of the city’s investment. The cause of the recent fire remains under investigation, according to officials.
Series of problems
The project ran into trouble nearly from the start. Three days after the purchase closed in December, a water main break in one of the buildings led to “significant” water damage to at least 30 of the former hotel’s rooms, according to a city document.
Months later, the city sought plans to convert the Villager Inn to a shelter, but no one submitted proposals. Groups told the city the existing facility “did not appear to be financially feasible or make practical sense for reuse as permanent supportive housing.”
The city in the third quarter of 2023 began to further evaluate the property and prepare demolition bid specifications for partial or full demolition “in an effort to best prepare the site for redevelopment,” a city document said.
The city also reported problems with vandalism and criminal activity at the site, including 12 police calls to the location in July and August.
The day of the fire, police were at the Villager Inn because of trespassing complaints.
O’Neill said he’s also been concerned about the tent city encampment that grew to nearly 30 homeless residents last year at the height of the crisis.
“Even though it’s gone, there are no assurances it won’t come back again,” O’Neill said.
He said he has asked the city manager for a plan to prevent a repeat of the tent city.
O’Neill said he wanted “legislation that will alleviate that problem or at the very least put us in a position that it does not affect neighborhood and business locations of those trying to make a living and those living in Springfield … I think we need to address this so it doesn’t happen to us again.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
About the Author