Hotel Pattee Gets Another Chance

A historic hotel is getting another chance to make it.  With just a few more hoops to jump through, The Hotel Pattee is soon to be under new ownership.  A St. Louis family plans to give the hotel what they say it's needed for years, some tender loving care from Perry.

As Jay and Denise Hartz took one of the final steps to buy the hotel Saturday morning, they said they were ecstatic.

"A new chapter.  A chapter that we've always dreamed of," Denise said.

The couple have wanted to buy a hotel in a small town for a long time.  They looked at another one in Iowa first.

"The town just didn't feel right.  It was a small time, like Perry, but it wasn't Perry," Denise said.

But then, last year, they found Hotel Pattee.

"Right then, we had that gut feeling.  Right then, we knew it.  We loved it, we wanted it, but you know, there's a time and a place for everything and it didn't work at that time," she said.

When it closed this July, they knew it was their chance to swoop in.  They gathered investors from around the community and created a marketing plan that they said is a recipe for success.

"There's a lot of potential here that has not been tapped into in our opinion," Jay said.

They plan to attract bike traffic from the new trail, offer bed and breakfast amenities, play up the history and art in the building, and really draw from the businesses in Des Moines.

"It's going to be our baby.  We're going to put everything into this hotel," Denise said.

They know it doesn't have a history of being successful.  It first shut down in 2006, 10 years after millions of dollars of renovations were done.  After the closing this year, the hotel's reputation isn't at it's best.

"We know we have one chance to do it right," Jay said.

But they said they're committed to moving their family to Perry, and making it work.

"This type of property needs to be managed by an owner/operator.  There needs to be a vested interest," Jay said.

If all goes according to plan, the Hartz family says they plan to open their doors for business as early as the end of October. 

Reported:  ABC 5 News West Des Moines, IA