Oct. 29–PEORIA — Table 19 appears to be a hit. Parking for $12 a day was a miss.

Overall, after four months of operation in Downtown Peoria, the Marriott Pere Marquette appears to be batting above average.

“I think that the positive public reaction from both the local community and in the business community, from travelers who use the hotel who we’ve had the opportunity to interact with, it’s been fantastic,” City Manager Patrick Urich said.

Urich’s outside perspective matches those of two insiders — project developer Gary Matthews and Laura Lojas, the Pere Marquette general manager.

“Things are going extremely well,” Lojas said. “The property is very busy.”

Much of that business is a of a repeat nature, according to Matthews. He said such trade is the true test of a hotel.

In the Pere Marquette’s case, that stabilizing — to use the hotel-business term — is happening faster than Matthews anticipated.

“When it first opens, it’s pretty rocky,” said Matthews, whose 1920s-era property closed for 18 months for renovations. “You’re not getting the percentages you hope for, because many people don’t even know you’re open yet.

“But we’re very pleased with the repeats, very pleased with the interest in special events and very pleased with our surveys coming back, with guests happy with what they see.”

Much of the happiness, at least for public consumption, appears to be anecdotal. Neither Matthews nor Lojas would reveal specific numbers. They did say the occupancy rate is above expectations.

Receiving apparent high ratings from the public, and from Urich, is the Pere Marquette restaurant.

Table 19, which emphasizes foodstuffs sourced locally, receives four of five stars from TripAdvisor, a travel website where individuals post reviews of hotels, restaurants and other attractions. The hotel in general receives 4 { stars.

Not rated so highly, apparently, was the $12 daily fee the hotel assessed to use its parking deck, which opened in March. That charge has been suspended, according to Matthews.

“We realized that sometimes you’ve got to witness things before you need to improve them,” he said. “We want to stay competitive and we want to make sure it’s convenient for our (overnight) guests, as well as our guests for food and beverage.”

The parking deck along Fulton and Monroe streets includes vacant, ground-floor retail space. Matthews envisions speciality shops and an upscale restaurant for that area, although no concrete commitments have been made.

The hotel project has had plenty of new aspects, but Lojas said the historic nature of the facility at 501 Main St. has been a lure. A number of current Pere Marquette employees had relatives who worked for the hotel’s previous incarnations, she said.

The hotel’s history also might have helped secure banquet business more quickly that might be expected at a new property.

“Grandma and Grandpa may have had their wedding reception (here), or maybe their parents did,” said Lojas, a Chicago native who worked for Marriott in Dayton, Ohio, before she came to Peoria 11 months ago.

The upgrades neccessary for Pere Marquette transformation were part of a package that cost about $100 million. The price includes the parking deck, an adjacent Courtyard by Marriott hotel scheduled to open in spring 2014 and a skywalk above Fulton Street to connect it all to the Peoria Civic Center.

Through various methods, the city contributed more than $30 million. A loan accounts for about $7 million. According to Urich, annual loan payments of $304,348 are to commence in April 2015.

Urich said he’s optimistic the Pere Marquette will be able to meet or exceed those payments. He’s also optimistic about the effect the project will have on the rest of Downtown.

John Campo, the lead architect of the Pere Marquette renovation, appears to share Urich’s urban optimism. Campo cited similar efforts in New Orleans, his hometown.

“Watch what happens around here in the next five years,” Campo said recently as he stood near the Table 19 entrance. “It’s not just about the building. It’s about its catalyst in terms of creating urban revitalization for the city of Peoria.”

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Nick Vlahos can be reached at 686-3285 or nvlahos@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @VlahosNick.