Originally built in 1926, the Pere Marquette hotel reopened in June following an 18-month, $93 million renovation that preserved its historic details.
Next door, a 116-room Courtyard by Marriott is under construction and scheduled to open in spring 2014.
The Peoria Marriott Pere Marquette offers 19,000 square feet of function space, and a skywalk will connect both hotels to the Peoria Civic Center and its 110,000-square-foot exhibit hall.
With all this change coming to downtown Peoria, Meetings Focus checked in with Sue Atherton, vice president of sales & marketing at the Peoria Area CVB, to discuss the future of the destination.
Meetings Focus: How does the Pere Marquette property fit into new and improved downtown Peoria?
Sue Atheron: The opening of the Peoria Marriott Pere Marquette and construction of a Courtyard by Marriott on the same block will help revitalize the Peoria downtown area and bring back meeting and conventions, as some business was lost when the hotel closed in 2011. The Marriott will be the upscale hotel which downtown needs, and it will match the scale and quality of the recent additions to the Peoria Civic Center.
MF: What are some of the biggest draws for planners, both to the hotel and the local area?
SA: Planners are eagerly awaiting the climate-controlled skywalk. The Peoria Riverfront Museum, Caterpillar Visitor Center and the Spirit of Peoria paddlewheeler are always big draws as well as all the riverfront festivals, events and music during the summer.
MF: What types of groups do you expect to see at the hotel?
SA: We expect the Marriott to attract larger groups that would use it as an upscale host hotel, in conjunction with the Peoria Civic Center. We are also working to attract more medical groups as Peoria becomes better known as a downstate Illinois medical hub.
