PHOTO BY DEAN OLSEN
The Wyndham Springfield City Centre closed on March 27 after being damaged by internal flooding. Initial estimates of 90 days to reopen have now been extended to six months.
It may be many months before the Wyndham Springfield City Centre Hotel can reopen.
The 370-room, 30-story hotel at 700 E. Adams St. in downtown Springfield was damaged by internal flooding on March 27 and has been closed since then.
An initial estimate from the Wyndham’s owner that the hotel would be closed for up to 90 days increased in the past month. A reopening now could be delayed for up to 120 days, according to Scott Dahl, director of the Springfield Convention and Visitors’ Bureau.
And Gosia Wray, the Wyndham’s general manager, informed a Springfield Business Journal staff member who was compiling a list of Springfield hotels for an upcoming publication that a reopening could be delayed even longer.
Wray wrote in a May 6 email that it “doesn’t look like we will be able to reopen sooner than in 6 months,” though she also said, “I do not have any decision-making voice.”
No one answers the phone at the hotel, and Wray didn’t respond to an email. Wyndham owner Al Rajabi of Tower Capital Group in San Antonio, Texas, didn’t respond to a phone message or an email. An Illinois Times reporter who walked up to the Wyndham’s front doors to take photographs on May 23 was greeted by a woman who told the reporter to get off the property.
Details of what caused the damage that closed the hotel have been elusive.
The Wyndham first opened as Forum 30 in 1973 and is the second-tallest building in Springfield, behind the Capitol. The hotel began to be known as the Springfield Hilton in 1980, and its brand switched to Wyndham in 2015.
A March 28 news release from the city of Springfield said the Springfield Fire Department responded to an alarm call at the Wyndham the day before and found flooding and elevator damage but no fire.
“After further SFD inspection and investigation by the State Fire Marshal, the Springfield Fire Department Fire Safety Division placarded the hotel property for not meeting life safety code standards due to nonworking elevators and out-of-service fire alarm and sprinkler systems,” the statement read in part.
The release said the Springfield Police Department is investigating the damage to the hotel as potentially “intentional and vandalism.” Dahl said the investigation continues.
Wray wrote in a March 28 news release, “We are working hard to resolve the situation as quickly as possible and look forward to welcoming our guests back very soon. As soon as we have more information to share, we will provide an update. In the meantime, we truly appreciate your patience and understanding.”
It’s unknown how much damage was done and how insurance coverage may play a role in restoration efforts.
Adding to the Wyndham’s financial challenges is a lien filed against the property by Springfield-based E.L. Pruitt Co. Pruitt says in its claim, filed with the Sangamon County Recorder’s Office on Jan. 6, that the Wyndham owes Pruitt $386,855 for a temporary chiller and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning services provided in October 2024.
A spokesperson for Pruitt didn’t return a phone call seeking comment.
The Wyndham is a key player in the city’s tourism and convention industry. Dahl and the staff of his city-operated department had to scramble to help find accommodations and arrange shuttle services for convention-related visitors, but the loss of the Wyndham hasn’t resulted in the city losing any conventions in 2025, he said.
Many displaced guests have been able to be rerouted to the Abraham Lincoln Springfield DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel across the street from the Wyndham, and the Crowne Plaza Springfield Hotel at 3000 S. Dirksen Parkway.
The impact of the Wyndham closure on convention business for 2026 and beyond is less certain, Dahl said.
Springfield has almost 4,000 hotel rooms, with an average annual occupancy rate of 53%, he said. However, Dahl said one of the benefits his agency can pitch for conventions downtown is the close proximity of the Wyndham, the BOS Center and the Abraham Lincoln hotel, which offers 310 rooms.
The Wyndham’s future will play a role in how a potential expansion of the BOS Center is finalized.
Officials from the city, Sangamon County and the publicly controlled convention center received results of a feasibility study in 2024 that recommended doubling the BOS Center’s size to capture more convention business that is being lost to venues in other communities.
The study also recommended constructing a new 300-bed hotel adjacent to the convention center to maximize the potential of a larger BOS Center. One option floated in the study was tearing down the Wyndham and building the new hotel there.
Rajabi hasn’t responded to the city’s 2023 offer of potential financial incentives to renovate the hotel. Even before the March incident, it was unclear whether any renovations, or a sale of the property, were being planned, because Rajabi wasn’t communicating with city officials.
However, city officials finalized an agreement in January with Rajabi in which he will resume paying rent for use of the city-owned parking lot at 700 E. Monroe St.
Tower Capital bought the hotel from the previous owner for $7.4 million in 2019 as part of a bankruptcy proceeding.