ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A once-thriving Rockford restaurant, hotel, and convention center is under new management.

Maverick Hotels hopes to reinvigorate the Cliffbreakers Event Center and Riverview Inn and Suites, which overlooks the Rock River at 700 W Riverside Blvd.

The hotel’s general manager, Jennifer Paulsen, has been working to transform the once-booming event space since Maverick took over in October.

With 84 rooms and 20,000 square feet, it is one of Rockford’s largest event locations.

“Just being able to bring back the (Cliffbreakers) event center and bringing other companies to come to us and have their events here, and stuff like that it, lets people know that Rockford isn’t just a drive-through place; it’s a destination city,” she said Thursday.

Ballrooms were remodeled, and the Park View Ballroom on the second floor was reopened. The company said they have updated and repaired the decks that overlook the river.

Paulsen said Maverick Hotels is an established, Chicago-based hospitality company, and they hope to have all the renovations completed by the end of this year.

Lucio Pelloso, regional director of sales for the company, said, “We are known for excellence and we’re very excited to enter the Rockford market to provide world-class accommodations, food, beverages, and events.”

Pelloso said the hotel and convention center was a perfect opportunity for Maverick.

“We are going to beautify this hotel and bring the glamour back into this hotel and the city of Rockford,” he said.

Paulsen said she is excited about the property’s potential.

“The entire staff, myself, Maverick, just have a passion that this place becomes something again, stays something, and really contributes to the community,” she said.

Cliffbreakers was opened by Rockford entrepreneur Jimmy Vitale in 1993 and sold in 2012. It has changed hands several times since. After a deadly shooting on New Year’s 2017, the facility underwent a $2.5 million renovation and was re-christened the Riverview Inn and Suites in 2018.