Jefferson Street U-Haul plan sparks Joliet economic development debate

A U-Haul complex will replace the old Joliet Inn and Suites.

The City Council on Tuesday voted 8-1 for the project at 4200 W. Jefferson St. despite lengthy discussion the night before on whether the a U-Haul operation would be right for the location.

The one no vote was from Sherri Reardon who called the location a “gateway” spot for Joliet.

The U-Haul plan offered an opportunity to redevelop an aging hotel, much of which is vacant and showing signs of disuse.

But several council members when discussing the plan at a workshop meeting on Monday indicated they were not pleased with the city’s handling of economic development.

A Joliet monument sign, marking the city limits, is located on the edge of the hotel property. The wooden city sign is wearing away, and so are the hotel signs.

Passersby may find it difficult to tell whether the hotel is even open, and the restaurant area that takes up a large portion of the front area appears shuttered. But the lobby is open, and a wing of the hotel behind the lobby appears to be the only section of the large hotel complex still being used for rooms.

Dissatisfaction over a U-Haul facility coming to the entryway location led to a general discussion on the city’s economic development efforts.

“I don’t mean to pile it on, but economic development has completely stalled,” council member Joe Clement said, adding his comment to others.

The U-Haul plan calls for a $20 million truck, trailer and self-storage complex on the 7.5 acres now occupied by the Joliet Plaza Inn.

The hotel originally was built as a Howard Johnson’s and was a premier operation for its day, catering to highway motorists at a time when chain hotels were just beginning to capture the business of more mobile traveling public. But the hotel has fallen on hard times and struggled under multiple owners as new hotel chains have moved into Joliet.

Still, a couple of council members were hesitant to see the site converted into a U-Haul facility.

Council member Sherri Reardon said she was “thrilled” that the site was getting redeveloped.

But, she quickly added, “I am disappointed that it’s going to be seven acres of prime real estate at a gateway to Joliet.”

Reardon said she was not alone in her concern about the U-Haul plan. “We have a lot of people disappointed with what that utilization will be,” she said.

The council on Tuesday also heard from two pilots who use the nearby Joliet Regional Airport and said a three-story building planned by U-Haul would pose a hazard.

Reardon called for a discussion on the city’s economic developments efforts and an update on the city’s long-stalled comprehensive plan.City Manager Beth Beatty said the comprehensive plan is “a top priority” but completion of the plan is still at least a year and a half away.

In the meantime, council member Suzanna Ibarra said the city seems to operate “in more of a crisis mode” in dealing with projects that come to the council for approval. Ibarra represents District 5, which includes the proposed U-Haul site.

“My constituents over there would have liked to see something more family friendly,” Ibarra said.

Council members also questioned why Economic Development Director Cesar Suarez was not at the Monday meeting to join discussion about the U-Haul plan. Representatives from both U-Haul and the Joliet Plaza Inn were there.

“What we’re doing currently is much more modern that what you may have seen in the past,” Rick Rottweiler, area district vice president for U-Haul, told the council.

Rottweiler said U-Haul would build a facility that would provide consumers a step-up from aging self-storage operations that may appear unsafe. The U-Haul facility would be well lit, secure and inviting, he said.

“You wouldn’t have any problem sending your grandmother there alone at night,” Rottweiler told the council,

A special use permit from the council is required before a self-storage operation can be built, and the council has generally approved the permits. But it has held back at times.

The city in 2020 balked at a proposal to build a self-storage operation to replace the old Kmart, which had stood vacant for years at Jefferson and Larkin Avenue. Eventually, the city instead worked out an incentive package that brought in Tony’s Fresh Market, which opened a supermarket and has developed other commercial space on the corner.

Council member Larry Hug, who heads the council’s Economic Development Committee, said economic development activity has fallen off in Joliet.

“We need to do a kickstart to get it back to what it used to be,” Hug said.