Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski wrote to the owner the Wyndham hotel property on downtown Springfield. The facility at 700 E. Adams St. closed earlier this year due to vandalism in March that remains under investigation.
The 13th District Representative raised concerns about mismanagement and deterioration of the 30-story property.
“The Springfield community deserves a vibrant, thriving downtown business district, and your mismanagement of the property at East Adams Street has directly undermined the city’s growth and prosperity,” Budzinski wrote in a letter to Tower Capital Group General Manager Al Rajabi, who is based in San Antonio, Texas.
“Springfield deserves more than repeated failures, unkept promises, and allegations of misconduct. Downtown Springfield can and should be a premier destination for conventions, exhibitions, tourism, and business opportunities. Regrettably, the Springfield community has instead endured six straight years of controversy and operational collapse.”
The Wyndham's closure led to events, including conventions, being canceled. Springfield receives money from a hotel tax on rooms. Staff has also been laid off and the building has boards over windows. Budzinski said the shutdown imposed "real costs on our local economy."
Budzinski said there has been a pattern of Tower Capital Group failing to deliver on promises to renovate the hotel, convert the property, and put it up for auction. Tower purchased the hotel through a 2019 bankruptcy proceeding.
In August, an insurance company alleged Rajabi conspired the cause extensive water damage that made the hotel inoperable, according to court documents. Rajabi's attorneys called the allegations "baseless."
Affiliated FM Insurance Company has refused to pay a liability claim filed by Rajabi through “willful misrepresentations and concealments of material fact,” according to documents from Affiliated that are part of its defense against Rajabi’s civil lawsuit against the company in Springfield’s U.S. District Court, wrote the Illinois Times.
Rajabi had previously sought to turn the hotel into a Marriott property, with more than half of the rooms becoming apartments. Springfield officials turned down his request for financial assistance and the plan fizzled.
Rajabi decided to auction off the hotel in 2024. But a reserve price was not met and no sale occurred.
The full text of the Budzinski's letter:
Mr. Rajabi,
I am writing today to express deep concern regarding the continued deterioration and mismanagement of the property at 700 East Adams Street in Springfield, Illinois, over the past several years. The Springfield community deserves a vibrant, thriving downtown business district, and your mismanagement of the property at East Adams Street has directly undermined the city’s growth and prosperity.
When you purchased the hotel in 2019, you touted plans for major upgrades and renovations. You failed to deliver those upgrades. In the years that followed, you assured the community that you were working on a deal to convert the property to another hotel chain. You never followed through on the deal. In 2024, you listed the property up for auction, raising the community’s hopes for new investment and revitalization. You never made the sale.
In March 2025, the building suffered severe vandalism and flooding, rendering it unsafe for occupancy. The Springfield Fire Department determined the property could not safely host guests or events, forcing conventions and bookings to relocate throughout the city, imposing real costs on our local economy. You assured the public the closure would last only 90 days. Six months later, the building remains closed, boarded up, and without any credible plan or timeline for repair, renovation, or reopening.
Worse yet, it was recently alleged in court that the March 2025 damage was intentionally caused as part of an insurance fraud scheme. While these allegations remain under litigation, their seriousness only adds to the mounting concerns about your stewardship. Today, Springfield’s skyline centerpiece stands dark, boarded, and blighted – an eyesore in the heart of our capital city.
Springfield deserves more than repeated failures, unkept promises, and allegations of misconduct. Downtown Springfield can and should be a premier destination for conventions, exhibitions, tourism, and business opportunities. Regrettably, the Springfield community has instead endured six straight years of controversy and operational collapse.
I urge you, in the strongest terms, to take immediate, transparent steps to clarify your intentions for the property and to work with local leaders to ensure its return to safe and productive use. In the interim, I remain committed to working with local, state, and federal leaders to ensure that the next chapter of this property finally delivers the value and vitality our community deserves.
