Hotel developers break ground for Tru by Hilton in Dixon

DIXON – Officials broke ground Wednesday on the new Tru by Hilton hotel, one of several developments on tap for Dixon in the Interstate 88 corridor.

Al Hill, a longtime Dixon resident who moved to Texas, has built more than 100 hotels through Hillcrest Development Inc.

The first was the Super 8 in Dixon, and the Tru by Hilton will be the last under the development company, which he started about 50 years ago.

“This will be the last hotel that that company builds. That (over there) was my first. This is my last and I’ve had 102 in between them,” Hill said during a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday.

Hill, who built and co-owns the Quality Inn at 136 Plaza Drive, partnered with Dixon Super 8 owners Magan Patel and Nitin Patel to develop the Hilton at 1806 S. Galena Ave.

Hill and Magan have been friends for more than 25 years.

[ Dixon hotel owners behind new Hilton project ]

It will be four stories high with 82 rooms. The 40,000-square-foot hotel will have 14 full-time employees, eight part-time employees and 96 parking spaces.

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Hotel developer Al Hill embraces partner Magan Patel during remarks on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, prior to a groundbreaking for a Tru by Hilton near South Galena Avenue in Dixon. (Troy Taylor)

“This is the welcome mat that we get to roll out as people come off of Interstate 88 and get their first impression of what this community is all about.”

—  Tom Demmer, LCIDA executive director

The hotel will be a “major catalyst” to developments on that side of the road, City Manager Danny Langloss said.

Across the street is the 27-acre Gateway Project commercial development, which will include gas stations, restaurants, a hotel and Dixon Family YMCA child care center. Langloss said the developers are also interested in the 65 acres behind Walmart.

Tom Demmer, executive director of the Lee County Industrial Development Association, said the I-88 corridor is like Dixon’s door step to visitors.

“This is the welcome mat that we get to roll out as people come off of Interstate 88 and get their first impression of what this community is all about,” he said.

Dixon Mayor Glen Hughes, who was sworn-in Monday, said that a lot of work went into the Hilton project.

“There’s a lot of work that went into this project, none of which I can take credit for, but I appreciate what it represents to the community and the economy of Dixon,” he said.