GIBSON CITY — Gibson City is one step closer to getting a hotel.
At the city council’s Nov. 10 meeting, aldermen voted 8-0 to approve a $5,000 contribution from the city toward a $15,000 hotel market feasibility study to be conducted by Core Distinction Group of Oshkosh, Wis. The study will also be funded by a separate $5,000 pledge from the Greater Gibson Area Economic Alliance and $5,000 in combined financial commitments from Gibson Area Hospital & Health Services and the Gibson Area Chamber of Commerce.
A feasibility study done 10 years ago by Hotel & Leisure Advisors of Cleveland, Ohio, showed strong potential for a 40-room hotel in Gibson City, but no developer moved forward then. City leaders never gave up on the idea, though, as the city’s strategic plan released earlier this year included a hotel as part of future development priorities.
Alderman Ray Hankes asked for a new hotel feasibility study. During the council meeting, Hankes asked that the GGAEA’s executive director, Matthew Burns, present proposals he obtained from two Midwest-based consulting firms — Hotel & Leisure Advisors and Core Distinction Group.
While the cost to hire each firm was similar, Burns noted that Core Distinction Group separates itself with its unique ways to collect data for rural communities, which can make its feasibility studies quite valuable. Burns also noted that Core Distinction Group offers a 50% refund if the study turns out to be unsuccessful.
Some GIbson City officials want to bring a Cobblestone Hotel & Suites — like this one in nearby Paxton — to the western Ford County town. Will Brumleve/Ford County Chronicle
Burns was confident there would be positive results, though.
“I would be hard-pressed to assume that it would be anything but successful given our location,” Burns told aldermen. “I spoke with a few different people in different municipalities, and they said, ‘The northwest corridor between Champaign and Chicago is gold.’”
Burns said Core Distinction Group often works with hotel brands like Cobblestone Hotels & Suites or Springhill Suites by Marriott, for example, while Hotel & Leisure Advisors generally builds Best Western hotels south of Chicagoland. Cobblestone Hotels & Suites already operates a 41-room hotel with an indoor swimming pool about 15 miles to the east of Gibson City in nearby Paxton.
Burns said Core Distinction Group has guaranteed him that there will be interest from developers if the study is successful, “which is another way of saying Cobblestone would be interested,” he noted.
Burns stressed, though, that the city would have a choice of hotel brands.
“We are not pigeon-holed (into a specific brand of hotel) if we choose either (consulting firm),” Burns told aldermen. “The contract is directly with Core Distinction, not Cobblestone Hotels. I spoke with the city administrator of St. Joseph, who worked with Core Distinction in 2024. They have actively been connecting with multiple brands.”
The study is expected to be completed within about 30 days.
Alderman Sarah Sarantakos asked where a hotel might be located. Burns said the feasibility study would help answer that question, but inquiries have already been made regarding suitable sites.
“We have spoken to a few different landowners in the Gibson City area,” Burns said, “especially along the highways.”
The 2015 feasibility study by Hotel & Leisure Advisors had proposed a site on the east side of Illinois 47 south of its intersection with Illinois 9/54.
While the newly formed nonprofit GGAEA is spearheading the feasibility study, Burns assured Mayor Dan Dickey that the city would be a part-owner in the study and would receive copies of all the reports. Gibson City’s $5,000 contribution toward the study will come out of the TIF 3 fund, Dickey said.