Firm selected to consider uses for Quail Hollow Resort property in Concord Township

Mar. 6—The Concord-Painesville Joint Economic Development District has hired a consulting firm to consider future uses for the Quail Hollow Resort property in Concord Township.

The JEDD recently selected Cleveland-based Silverlode Consulting to complete the analysis at the hotel property, which is located at 11080 Concord-Hambden Road. JEDD Administrator Rita McMahon said that the project "should be completed by the end of May."

The contract will cost no more than $40,000, she added. The JEDD will pay for the work using its portion of the income tax revenue from the businesses that are members of the district.

McMahon described the project as "an opportunity to work with the property owners to bring the property back to life."

"They will be looking at both the reuse and redevelopment of the buildings and site and potential development should the facility be removed," she added.

Concord Township Trustee and JEDD board member Morgan McIntosh said that the JEDD is expecting to receive a "comprehensive report" with recommendations, as well as "an assessment of the challenges of the property, the viability of the structure."

He added that the report would consider property usage options and look at potential problems related to development, like traffic.

"We hope that the analysis will provide information on potential reuses or new uses of the property based on current market trends that will help market the site," McMahon said.

McIntosh said that officials asked Silverlode to have the results ready in time for the May 19-21 ICSC Las Vegas convention. The ICSC website described the event as a "gathering of dealmakers and industry experts, who are driving innovation and evolution in commercial real estate."

"It creates the conversation, it creates the marketing, so we can take that information when we go to ICSC in Las Vegas, and we sit down and there's developers and all kinds of huge firms," he said.

JEDD officials discussed potential uses for the site at their Sept. 15 board meeting. The minutes recorded McIntosh stating that previous proposals for the site have been related to residential use. The hotel had provided tax revenue, and he indicated that "it would be nice" to have a tenant that would join the JEDD or provide more tax revenue.

In a later interview, he added that there is "a need for hotels" in the area, which is near the Interstate 90 exit at state Route 44.

McIntosh said that the building is unused and "clearly in distress," with multiple sinkholes on the property. One of the sinkholes is visible in the parking lot.

Another sinkhole is located under the building and was subject to an insurance claim as of the Sept. 15 meeting, according to comments from McMahon and Concord Township Administrator Andy Rose that were recorded in the meeting minutes.

McIntosh said that the property's current owner "fell behind in tax payments" and "kind of neglected the building."

The nearby Quail Hollow Country Club is under different ownership, he added.

The township is limited in what it can do to regulate the building condition, though McIntosh said that it can "ask about mowing" and address the fire code.

"They've had trouble, but we've worked with them and they've basically kept the bare minimum," he added.

McIntosh said that the property owner is interested in selling the property and will cooperate with the analysis.

McMahon provided contact information for a representative of the Quail Hollow Resort property's management. The representative did not immediately respond to a phone call and email.

"The township appreciates the effort of the JEDD to help promote the development of this property," McIntosh said. "Trustees and the township often hear from residents how unhappy they are that the hotel remains unused and has become an eyesore."

"While the township cannot force the owner to use the property and we are at our limit to enforce the upkeep, we can assist the owner with an assessment of the property and help promote its development so it is no longer an eyesore and is once again a vital part of the township economy," he added.