The new ownership of the downtown Peoria Marriott-Pere Marquette Hotel held an official ribbon-cutting to celebrate the acquisition of the historic property by Shreem Capital, an investment firm located in Irving, Texas, on Monday, November 13.
During his remarks to a large group of invitees that included Peoria Mayor Rita Ali, Illinois State Rep. Ryan Spain and city and county council and board members, among others, Shreem Capital managing partner and CEO Bhavin Patel promised to restore full guest services to the hotel and utilize a large, undeveloped retail space located on the property’s west side.
“We have a great vision going forward,” said Patel. “We’re looking forward to elevating the empty retail space that’s been vacant here for a really long time. We’re looking forward to elevating the upscale guest experiences that the Marriott-Pere Marquette has always been historically known for, and we’re bringing everything back to the hotel that our operations need.”
Patel praised the company’s corporate team and leadership for initiating work on the hotel, as well as current hotel management and staff, for their hard work and enthusiasm in helping the initial ownership transition occur smoothly.
Patel also referred to his blue collar upbringing by hotelier parents who provided for their family while setting high standards for a commitment to the trade.
“We are very optimistic about Peoria and the surrounding community. I am a second-generation hotelier, and I literally grew up in hotel rooms, cleaning rooms with my mother and growing up in a hotel world,” said Patel, who was raised in Indiana and Hot Springs, Arkansas, while soaking up the ins and outs of family hotel management and ownership beginning as an 8 year-old.
Hard work and success apparently ran in the Patel family. In 2014, Patel graduated in Finance from the Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. He then began his career with an internship with Wells Fargo’s Corporate Banking division in Dallas, Texas before joining Naya Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on early-stage investments in mobile, cloud and big data arenas.
Buoyed by his previous successes, Patel founded Shreem Capital in 2017. His overriding goal is to increase the capital fund’s hotel portfolio and “exceed the expected returns for investors by driving a targeted acquisition and development strategy,” according to his company biography.
In her introductory remarks, Ali welcomed Patel to “the family of the City of Peoria. This building, right here, is a huge part of the heart of Peoria. Many people have long memories of great times in this hotel and the Pere Marquette building, and it’s had its share of ups and downs through the years. But I see it as ‘up’ from here on, based on the positive direction of the new ownership.”
As previously reported by WCBU’s Tim Shelley, the reported $20 million fetched for the properties-- which included both conjoined hotels and an adjacent parking deck-- was far less than the the $38.4 million union pension fund INDURE Build-to-Core paid for the properties back in 2018 after the collapse of developers Gary Matthews' and Monte Brannan's business venture. The pair were recently found guilty in a federal embezzlement trial in Peoria related to the hotel's previous financing.
INDURE was the largest investor in the hotel redevelopment project, though others lost their investments, including the city of Peoria, which wasn't able to recoup a $7 million loan, WCBU reported. The Pere Marquette and Marriott are the first two hotels for the company in Illinois, which also currently owns hotels in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Shreem Capital officially took over occupancy of the Peoria Marriott-Pere Marquette on October 12, 2023.
