Employees of the Oconomowoc, Wis. property were told at a holiday party that the property will be closed, and long-term tenants were given less than a month to relocate. Weddings and events are being moved to other area locations. The 29-acre property has been listed for sale since August 2017 for $5.9 million.
Employees of the Olympia Resort and Conference Center in Oconomowoc, Wis., which has been for sale for months, were told at a company Christmas party held on January 9 that the property will be closed, the Milwaukee (Wis.) Journal Sentinel reported.
Long-term tenants of the property have been told they have until January 19 to move out, the Journal Sentinel reported. Organizations that have events scheduled at the resort in the upcoming months have had those events canceled, and some staff members have heard about pending layoffs.
At the company’s Christmas party, Rudy Eckert, Olympia’s General Manager and son of owner Rick Eckert, told staff Olympia that would close soon, according to a source who asked to remain anonymous, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Rudy Eckert did not provide any other details about a timeline or what operations, specifically, would be shut down, the source said.
Rick Eckert referred all questions to his son when contacted by the Journal Sentinel, and Rudy Eckert declined to discuss the issues with a reporter for the newspaper.
The 135,000-sq. ft. hotel and conference center has 256 rooms and sits on 29 acres near Highway 67 and Interstate 94. It was listed for sale in August 2017 on the website of the First Weber Commercial real estate firm for $5.9 million. As of Jan. 10, the property remained active on First Weber’s site, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Olympia Resort opened in 1974, and additional construction was completed between 1976 and 1983. Over the years, it has been used to host conventions, weddings and visitors.
At one time, the complex included a golf course and ski hill, the Journal Sentinel reported. Later, those amenities split from the resort and were owned and operated separately. Both have since closed.
In 2016, the Eckerts attempted to turn the resort into a senior living facility, but dropped those plans in late November 2016. At that time, the Journal Sentinel reported, Rick Eckert said, “We will remain a resort for the next 40 years.” He also said at the time that the resort’s future likely included a change of ownership and that he had a buyer lined up, but the sale was dependent on a commitment to keeping the property a resort.
Long-term lodging residents at Olympia received a letter dated December 22, 2017, saying they had 28 days to find other arrangements, the Journal Sentinel reported.
“In the most recent week, our business has gone thru some changes that force us not to offer long-term residency,” the notice stated. “This letter shall be deemed a 28-day notice to vacate.
“In the next 28 days, we are asking our current tenants to either be on a day-to-day hotel rate or to seek other suitable housing. The last date to be moved out is 1/19/2018.
“We are not stating this without serious consideration of our tenants.”
Some organizations that have events scheduled in the next few months at the resort also have serious doubts that their events will go on as planned at Olympia, the Journal Sentinel reported.
The Oconomowoc Rotary Club’s Oconomowoc Brewfest was scheduled for March at Olympia. The club has since moved the event to the La Belle Golf Club in Oconomowoc, after hearing from Olympia that the venue would not be available.
Another organization was scheduled to hold an event in February and found out in early January from Olympia staff that it would not take place at the resort, the Journal Sentinel reported.
According to the Oconomowoc Community Center, which hosts weddings, some brides who were originally scheduled to have their weddings in April and May at Olympia were told by staff that the property was closing and that they would have to move their weddings.
The anonymous source said front-desk staff members at the hotel have been told most of the front desk staff would be laid off at the end of January, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Oconomowoc Mayor Dave Nold told the Journal Sentinel that he has not heard anything concrete from Olympia.
“I’ve heard things, but I haven’t heard anything official,” Nold said. “I’ve heard a couple rumors here and there about people being told to vacate, but I haven’t heard anything from [Olympia], anything official or unofficial or anything.”
But Nold also said there are people looking to buy the property.
“There are people interested in the property,” Nold said. “I’m not sure they’re interested in it as a hotel, but I know there are people interested in the property. How far along that is, that I don’t know.”
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