'Distressed asset': Hotel Topeka expected to lose $396,000 in 2024
TOPEKA (KSNT) - Costs at the Hotel Topeka are piling up with expenses tied to sprinklers, actuators, locks, drywall and more.
As of February 2024, the City of Topeka spent a total of $8,145,662 including the original purchase price of $7,391,458. The city now expects the operating budget of Hotel Topeka to lose $396,000 this year, according to City spokeswoman Rosie Nichols.
The city purchased the 224-room hotel for $7.5 million at an auction in 2023, at the end of former city manager Stephen Wade’s time with the city. Since then, the city has made it clear the government entity is not interested in being in the hotel business, but wants to find a way to fix up the hotel for economic reasons.
In March, Hotel Topeka missed the target for gross operating profit, total revenue and net income, according to TOKS Associates, LLC General Manager Wayne Wazlawik.
"April will be pretty much the same as we do have some conferences, but the Knights of Columbus is taking place in May and we are out of the rotation with the dog show we had last year," an excerpt from the March 31, 2024 financial statement from TOKS Associates, LLC General Manager Wayne Wazlawik. "Food and beverage will be a difficult as well. We will watch our labor and expenses closely."
The costs keep mounting. On March 15, the city was quoted $200,000 to repair a chiller, 50 windows have lost airtight seals and need replaced, an ice machine is broken and isn't repairable, hallway HVAC units need coils replaced, stones have fallen off the wall around the fountain and more.
When the city bought Hotel Topeka in 2023 it was hemorrhaging money. Topeka public works director Braxton Copley referred to Hotel Topeka as a ‘distressed asset’ in February 2024. That year saw an operating loss of $676,000. The last time the hotel was profitable was in 2019 when it earned $799,000.
For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.