Illinois
Indiana
Michigan
Minnesota
- A $55 million expansion to The Peoria Civic Center is nearing completion. The new project features 110,000 square feet of exhibit hall space and 45,000 square feet of meeting space to complement the center’s 12,000-seat arena and 2,200-seat performing arts theater. The new Great Hall and Exhibit Hall D opened March 1. Just over a month later, a new fourth-floor ballroom with flexible meeting space opened on top of Exhibit Hall D. The 27,000-square-foot ballroom can seat up to 1,600 for a banquet or 2,880 for a meeting, and it is also divisible into nine breakout rooms. The fourth floor features 12,000 square feet of prefunction space. The Civic Center’s new Club Room and suites area will be completed in fall 2007. This area is located one floor below the ballroom, with openings into the arena. For more information, call 309.673.8900 or visit www.peoriaciviccenter.com.
- The 19th-century-built Palmer House Hilton, the longest operating hotel in North America, is undergoing a $150 million renovation by renowned design firm ForrestPerkins. The renovations, slated to last through fall 2008, include the redesign of hotel guest rooms, bathrooms and corridors, as well as renovations to the street level entrance lobby and arcade, the Grand Lobby, the Honore’ Ballroom, the State and Grand ballrooms, and multiple conference, meeting and banquet rooms. Of the hotel’s 1,639 rooms and suites, ForrestPerkins is responsible for the redesign of the first phase: 805 standard guest rooms, 54 suites with adjoining rooms, the Penthouse Suite, and nine floors of guest corridors and elevator lobbies. Other improvements will include updating the building’s retail facades and revitalizing the internal shopping arcade. For more information, call 312.726.7500 or visit www1.hilton.com.
Indiana
- Indiana’s historic West Baden Springs Hotel, part of the French Lick Resort Casino, is reopening in June following a $382 million redevelopment project. The 246-room hotel, renowned for its domed atrium, refurbished its guest rooms and suites, which now offer LCD flat-panel televisions and Wi-Fi access; 40 rooms have balconies that offer a view of the atrium. The atrium will have complete wireless Internet access. Guests can utilize all of French Lick Resort Casino’s amenities, including golf, tennis, bowling, and guided horseback trail rides. Daily shuttle service will be available between the West Baden Springs Hotel and the French Lick Springs Hotel and French Lick Casino, located less than a mile away. An 18-hole Pete Dye golf course is set to open at French Lick in 2008. For more information, call 812.936.9300 or visit www.frenchlick.com.
Michigan
- The Radisson Hotel Detroit Livonia, formerly the Holiday Inn Livonia West, will remain open during an upcoming $12 million renovation. The renovations are expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2008 and will encompass the entire 226-room hotel and its exterior premises, including all guest rooms and suites, public areas (including its 15,300-square-foot meeting facility), the indoor pool and fitness center, as well as food and beverage outlets. The hotel, which officially changed its name in April, will include a new bar, an eatery marketplace, and a large atrium space for socializing. For more information, call 734.464.1300 or visit www.radisson.com/livoniami.
Minnesota
- The Westin Minneapolis debuted in May with 214 guest rooms and 19 suites. The hotel, which is housed in the old Farmers & Mechanics (F&M) Bank building in downtown, offers 7,891 square feet of meeting space, including a Bankers Boardroom—the original 10th floor F&M Bank’s boardroom with the original table and floor-to-ceiling windows. Meeting room options include four private boardrooms with built-in audiovisual and seven flexible meeting rooms. For more information, call 612.333.4006 or visit www.starwoodhotels.com.