The City of Springfield, Ill., is continuing negotiations with the owners of the historic Bel-Aire Motel, with the hope to eventually convert it into a Route 66 museum and visitors center or some other use, reported the State Journal-Register.
The owners are Gopal and Nimal Motwani, based in Florida. The motel, on the Sixth Street alignment of Route 66 in Springfield, sits in Alderman Cory Jobe’s district.
Jobe, whose ward includes the Bel-Aire, said those talks continue. He added that there have been discussions with the Motwanis, as well a potential developer. According to a commercial real estate listing, the owners are asking $900,000 for the 80-room property.
The Sangamon County assessor put the fair market value at about $755,000.
The motel was targeted for city inspections in June, and the owners were forced to make electrical, structural and fire safety repairs afterward. The Bel-Aire rents mainly to long-term residents.
The distance between the market value and the owners’ buyout price isn’t that vast. It wouldn’t surprise me if an agreement is reached eventually.
A recent photo of the Bel-Aire can be found here. As you can see, the retro neon sign, including a Sputnik structure, would make it a beacon for Route 66 travelers if the motel were converted into a tourist center.
In my opinion there is no reason for the city to take over this property. It is way too large for a visitors center. Yes it is a historical Route 66 Motel and should be guarded, but at this time it is functionally running as a business. What possibly are is the city of Springfield going to do with such a large facility WITHOUT making drastic changes to it? What about the people that call the 80 rooms their home? Sounds to me like Springfield is just looking for a way to move undesirable citizens out of a functioning facility.
Teri, didn’t you know…no one has built a Route 66 museum yet. It’s a rare opportunity! LOL
Just kidding…sort of. I’d like to see the property preserved/restored (especially the sputnik), and in a manner that the current owner appears to have no interest in doing. It’s a convenient location to the major Route 66 attraction, the Cozy Dog Drive In, has good access, good parking, and would be a fairly logical location for a museum/visitors center.
But does Route 66 need another museum? Does every town on the Route have to have it’s own?
I’m planning a trip to drive the length of the route, and I’m limited (like a lot of folks) to vacation time on hand (2-3 weeks max). That’s a lot of slow miles, with a LOT of things to stop and see. Do I really need to take the time to visit a dozen or more museums along the way?
There may be others, but I’m thinking that this would be the 3rd museum between Chicago and Springfield …Pontiac, Litchfield (proposed), and Springfield (proposed). While local history is interesting, is there going to be enough volume of traffic to sustain such a facility? You’ve got to have an awfully good business case, in my opinion, when you’re playing with the tax payers money.
I think you’re making a very good point, Dave. Lord knows that Springfield’s got plenty of museums anyway.
However, I see the Litchfield museum being viable, simply because it would be across the street from the Ariston Cafe. A lot of symbiosis there.