Davenport Howard Johnson sold; $4 million renovation planned

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By Doug Schorpp | Tuesday, April 29, 2008 8:05 PM CDT | () comments

The Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel at 3rd and LeClaire streets in Davenport has been purchased by Garden Hospitality. The building will be managed by Blue Ridge Hotels and will undergo $4 million in renovations. (Larry Fisher/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Buy this Photo

The new owners of the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel at 3rd and LeClaire streets in downtown Davenport plan a major renovation that they hope will improve its image and provide a much-needed, high-level hotel in the area.

“We will start renovations next week and be completed by next spring,” said Chris Ott, general manager of the property. “We want to improve the image, reputation, and it definitely will be more upscale.”

The new image will include a $4 million renovation to the interior and exterior of the hotel located just off the Government Bridge that links Arsenal Island to downtown Davenport.

“The feeling overall is that renovations and redoing that property will make it another asset to hotel offerings downtown, especially for events,” said Charlotte Morrison, vice president of marketing and communications for the Quad-Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Anything done to enhance the property improves the product we have to offer.

“We are really excited it is taking place at this hotel. Any time you have renovations, the property is being upgraded, it helps the overall look and feel of the area.”

The new name is Riverside Plaza Hotel. It is being purchased by Garden Hospitality, a new ownership group managed by Blue Ridge Hotels, a management group based in Hebron, Ky., Ott said. Closing on the sale will happen Friday, which is when Ott said they will be able to release the hotel chain name, or flag, that will be purchased as a franchise. However, he said it definitely will be a “higher-end, upscale brand.”

Ott, who has been managing the facility since April 13, said the current owner is Datta Hospitality, based in Chicago. Garden also is purchasing another hotel owned by Datta in the Wisconsin Dells.

The current owners purchased the former Clarion Hotel in 2005 with promises of a major renovation. The 137-room hotel had closed abruptly Nov. 12, 2004, with management citing a banking problem and contending that it was “not closing permanently.”

When it reopened, the hotel also brought back The Mississippi Grille and The Mississippi Bar, bringing in new kitchen equipment and refurbishing a grand ballroom upstairs. The new owners also talked about an indoor waterpark, which never materialized.

The hotel has suffered from an identity crisis with its multiple names, brands and owners over the years. It was the Best Western Riverview Inn before it became a Clarion.

Ott said the Davenport hotel and the Wisconsin Dells hotel are the first two properties for Garden Hospitality. Blue Ridge Hotels now manages four properties. While they are new companies, Ott said those at Blue Ridge, including himself, have years of experience in the hotel business.

Morrison said summer events like the IH Mississippi Valley Blues Fest, the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival and Sturgis on the River are the “biggies that fill up the hotel rooms. It will be nice to have another nice property downtown. It’s to the area’s advantage and to us for selling

the area for meetings and conventions.”

Doug Schorpp can be contacted at (563) 383-2292 or dschorpp@qctimes.com