URBANA, Ill.
City officials hope to have the historic Lincoln Hotel open
by the end of the year after council members on June 18 gave final
approval to a revised agreement with the property's owner. The new agreement
makes $400,000 in reimbursements for renovations available to owner
Xiao Jin Yuan prior to the hotel's opening.
Under the old agreement,
that money would not have been available until after Yuan opened the
hotel's doors for business. The city has already reimbursed Yuan
for $650,000 worth of renovations since he bought the property in 2010.
City officials had hoped the hotel would have opened by November 2011,
but delays pushed the expected opening back to late this summer.
After Yuan opens the hotel, another $400,000 would be available for continuing renovations.
