A Mt. Prospect group has purchased the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort, and promises $22 million in upgrades to the 175-acre facility.
The Bricton Group purchased the resort on Jan. 28, according to the resort’s new general manager, Eric Bates. The purchase includes the 18-hole Crane’s Landing golf course, the 882-seat Marriott Theatre, about 40,000 square feet of conference space and all 389 hotel rooms. The famous hotel chain operated the resort since its construction in 1975, but now licenses its name in a franchise agreement with Bricton, according to Bates.
“It’s an iconic location, it’s an iconic hotel,” Bates said Wednesday while sitting in the front lobby. “It’s a location that’s near and dear to so many hearts.”
And it is a location that should have notable changes in its near future. Bates said Bricton intends to update each room, with walk-in showers replacing the bath tubs, new windows, doors and locks, and replacements of the in-wall air-conditioning units.
The theater and golf course will be untouched, he said, though the carts will have GPS. But the King’s Wharf restaurant as Lincolnshire has known it could soon be gone.
“That’s been an iconic, untouched asset,” Bates said. “That entire space will be reinvigorated with a whole new concept.”
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In Lincolnshire Village Hall, village manager Brad Burke said he became excited when he heard of Bricton’s plans. He said the group visited him while they were thinking of buying the property to discuss zoning restrictions and possibilities.
“They just wanted to understand what their existing land-use entitlements were,” Burke said.
He said the resort has been one of Lincolnshire’s largest employers for years, and that the revenue it generates in hotel taxes is significantly more than the village’s five other hotels.
A $22 million renovation would exceed the purchase price — Lake County property records indicate that Bricton bought the property for $20.7 million. Marriott renovated the hotel’s main lobby and hallways in 2013, but did little with the guests’ quarters.
“They did a solid refresh,” Bates said of the 2013 makeover, “but they never renovated the rooms.”
Terry James, the executive producer of the theater, said 94 percent of their subscribers renewed their subscriptions last year, which was a record high for his group. He said he had been impressed by Bricton’s entrance into the facility he has managed for more than 25 years.
“We’ve had ownership that never went inside the theater,” James said. “They’ve already seen a show.”
The new ownership is a 25-year-old group that president Edward Doherty founded in Park Ridge. Bates is the facility’s third general manager since 2013, replacing Kristin Duncan. In the restaurant operation, Pierre Daval replaces Joe Plucinski as executive chef.
James said that for the past 10 years, they have averaged 330,000 adult customers, 110,000 kids and 35,000 subscribers. And he promised: ticket prices are not going up. But with show operations running smoothly, James said he did not fear being replaced, and planned to remain for years to come.
“Last year, in our 40th year, we sold our 11 millionth ticket,” he said. “I’ll be here as long as they’ll have me. Lots of shows still to do.”
Twitter: @RonnieAtPioneer