A court order says if LaSalle City Building Inspector Andy Bacidore can’t get into the old Kaskaskia Hotel by asking, he can break in. But the plan is for the developer to be there with a key at 9am Thursday. The city asked for a search warrant to get in, saying the owner and developer weren’t allowing an inside inspection.
Court filings say Bacidore inspected the outside of the building on March 22nd. He found a fallen porch overhang, empty spots in the walls where bricks should be, and open and broken windows that can let water in. He wants to inspect the inside to see what condition it’s in and make sure the public is safe.
Judge Joe Hettel agreed on Monday there’s probable and reasonable cause for a search warrant. His order says the inspection may happen on Wednesday or Thursday this week. The Sheriff’s Department is to be with the building inspector and they may use “such force as is reasonable and necessary to effect an entry”. Owner Kaskaskia Development LLC and project manager CL Enterprises LLC were to be given at least 40 hours notice.
We reached out to CL Enterprises for the owner’s and manager’s side of the story. We haven’t received a reply.
Some LaSalle city officials have been frustrated in recent years with how long it’s taking to redevelop the hotel. The city and developer reached a redevelopment agreement and the city started its downtown tax increment financing district mainly to create incentives for that project. It was supposed to be done at the end of 2020.
Last summer, Mayor Jeff Grove was optimistic about CL Enterprises resuming the work. Company president Nathan Watson communicated via email that its contractors had staffing issues and supply problems during the pandemic. Grove said the company had new employees and he thought everyone would be pleasantly surprised with the results.
This story was updated to show that the developer has agreed to let the inspector in.