Chateau Lake of the Ozarks delayed, Hammons Hotels mum on future of $100M project

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Before he fell ill, John Q. Hammons planned to begin construction of the $100 million Chateau Lake of the Ozarks in January or February of this year. It now looks as though Hammons’ goal to break ground in the heart of Osage Beach is unlikely to come to fruition in 2011.

Hammons is currently in what experts consider an unrecoverable health condition and John Q. Hammons Hotels has come under the management of new CEO Jacquie Dowdy.

“We will not be building any hotels next year,” Dowdy told the Springfield News-Leader as 2010 came to a close. She did qualify the statement by saying, “We have a sister company — Winegardner & Hammons in Cincinnati — that has a development department we'll use if we decide to build.”

John Q. Hammons Hotels, based in Springfield, Mo., referred specific questions about future development to the company legal department this week. As of the close of business Tuesday, corporate counsel had not responded to a request by LakeExpo.com to elaborate about Chateau Lake of the Ozarks.

Osage Beach City Planner Cary Patterson confirmed recently that the Hammons organization has followed through on its initial obligations to the city with regard to the tax increment finance district extended by the city for the project.

The Hammons group also negotiated easements with the owners of Formula Boats of Missouri during their purchase of the Dave Mungenast Yacht Club in December 2010. The marina property sits adjacent to the peninsula on the Grand Glaize Arm bought in December 2006 by Hammons for Chateau.

Back in May 2010, Hammons made public his intention to move forward with the project after two years of delays caused by a lawsuit brought by Four Seasons Marina Rentals Inc., which challenged the constitutionality of the decision made by the City of Osage Beach to extend a tax increment finance district to Hammons.

Originally, Hammons planned to open the resort for the summer season 2010.

“I hated that we had to delay this project,” Hammons said in May 2010. “I thought we would win the lawsuit, but I didn’t know it would take this long. We waited to finish our plans until the lawsuit was finalized, but all crews are now working on the plans and specifications for this project. I anticipate construction will start in January or February 2011 at the latest, and it will take approximately 22 months for completion. This 12-story, 320-room hotel with two ballrooms and numerous meeting rooms will be the premier hotel at the Lake.”

In 2007, Hammons predicted the hotel would generate about $25 million in annual revenue during normal economic conditions. If the City of Osage Beach kept 2 percent of the 7.225 percent base sales tax rate, the hotel would generate $500,000 per year in revenue for the city during normal economic conditions.