Hinsdale Lodge Losing Business: Village Officials

HINSDALE, IL — A Hinsdale lodge that is used for special events could bring in a lot more money for the village government if it were more accessible to those with disabilities, officials said this week. At its regular meeting, the Hinsdale Village Board voted to seek state money to improve the Katherine Legge Memorial Lodge.

If the village receives the money, it plans to renovate the lodge so it complies with the Americans With Disabilities Act. According to a village memo, the lodge loses an average of 36 rental opportunities a year because of the building's inaccessibility. With average rental fees amounting to $2,000, the lodge could capture at least $72,000 more a year, the memo said.

Hinsdale is seeking $1.9 million from a state parks and recreational facility construction grant program. If it gets the money, the village would have to chip in $625,000, a quarter of the project's cost. The money would be mainly used for ADA upgrades, but would also be spent on updating the overall building.

"I've thought for years that we could get more revenue out of KLM if we upgraded it," Village President Tom Cauley told the board. "The dance floor is on the second floor. If you have a wedding event there and you have elderly relatives coming, they can't go to the second floor. We are losing a lot of business."

He said the project was a good use of a state grant. With the lodge's declining revenue, he said, "at some point we won't be able to fix it up anymore. We either improve it or let it go. I don't know if we can tread water forever. If there is money out there that will help us fix it, let us grab it."

The board unanimously voted for seeking the state money. If the village is successful, it would receive the money in the third quarter of 2020 and must spend it within two years, officials said.