YTB to Build Hotel & Convention Center

Wood River may get hotel
Convention center also part of YTB’s plans
April 7, 2008 - 11:14PM
By CYNTHIA M. ELLIS
The Telegraph

WOOD RIVER - Before plans are even drawn, officials' excitement about a recently announced development project is difficult to contain. Officials recently learned YTB International Inc. and Aventurs of St. Louis are planning to build a convention center and hotel "It's a big boon to the city," Mayor Fred Ufert said. "We are looking forward to the development of this project." Ufert said the city has not been informed about the hotel project officially but does know YTB is planning to build a convention center in the near future. The Wood River City Council approved the annexation of 29.44 acres along Old Alton-St. Louis Road and Edwardsville Road (Illinois Route 143) and Illinois 255 on Monday night. The council then approved to rezone the property as B-3 Highway Business. The newly annexed property will be contiguous with adjacent properties in the area and will allow for the expansion of YTB, said Jeff Stassi, the company's director of real estate development and procurement. The Planning Commission held a public hearing March 20 and approved the rezoning of the property. Board members said the annexation would be in harmony with the city's zoning ordinance and would increase the area's tax base significantly. Stassi said that YTB is expanding the facility it purchased in 2006 to create more room for its growing workforce. He said there currently are about 350 employees, and the company expects to more than double its size during the next 18 months "YTB isexpanding to meet its needs," he said. The publicly traded company develops, sells and supports online travel booking engine Web sites for 140,000 independent representatives across the country and in Canada. The first phase of the project will include a 45,000-square-foot convention center and dining facility, adjacent to property along Edwardsville Road. The convention center, which would be open to the public, is expected to hold between 2,000 and 3,000 people. Future phases include the expansion of the company's corporate headquarters, as well as a hotel and some retail in the form of restaurants, Stassi said. During the public hearing, it was announced that survey work currently is being done on 9.96 acres, and that the area likely would be subdivided and a hotel built. The hotel chain or the developer was not named, but officials plan to make an announcement soon about the project. Stassi, who previously served as the city's director of parks and recreation, said he is looking forward to working with city officials again. He left the city in November 2005 to work in the private sector. He joined YTB more than two months ago. Ufert said the development would continue to add to the city's economic growth.

"We're looking forward to the continued development on the city's east end," he said. Last year, the city passed a 5 percent hotel/motel tax in anticipation of future development. Currently, the city brings in an average of $350 to $500 per month from fewer than a dozen rooms at a motel and rooming house.

"We expected growth and planned for growth," Ufert said. "The city is always looking ahead at what it needs. This project is just another piece of the puzzle that allows the city to prosper."