Meeting News - November 19, 2007 - (Page 24)

Convention Centers many of whom have been lukewarm to the project at best. But last month, Campbell admitted that the even higher estimate may not be enough. Addressing questions from New Democrats, Campbell said he expects the convention center to generate millions of dollars and thousands of jobs. But the city is not seeing those dollars yet. According to a year 2000 study by consulting firm KPMG, the center drove nearly 250,000 hotel room nights. A new study completed by the BC Pavilion Company for 2006-07 puts hotel room nights associated with the convention center at just over 100,000. Similar discrepancies exist for delegate days associated with programs at the center. Still, the expansion is moving forward, with the expectation that the 2010 Olympic Games will bring the needed revenues to the city and the facility will provide an economic lift through job creation. The center is expected to triple in size in spring 2009. must buy the hotel and land at market value. In addition, the county will have the right to reserve 75 percent of the hotel’s inventory 18 months out, and the plan also requires that the maximum room rate for the county be no higher than the hotel’s published corporate rate, plus a maximum 6-percent annual increase. Finally, the agreement does not allow the county to subsidize another hotel within five miles of the Westin, except for a stretch of land around Palm Beach County International Airport. and who would pay. In September, the project was in danger when construction costs went up and RLJ requested more funding from the city. But the initial plan for 1,400 rooms was scaled down to 1,150 rooms. Marriott agreed to bestow $82 million worth of debt financing that can be converted to a 15-percent equity stake in the hotel, if it is completed at its estimated cost of $540 million, the Washington Post reported. The hotel, to be a Marriott Marquis, is slated to open in 2011. Hines of Texas and Tishman Speyer of New York are developing an expansion plan for the convention center. Palm Beach County Gets Headquarters Hotel Palm Beach, FL—Debated for four years, a convention center hotel for Palm Beach County Convention Center is slated to break ground in April. City commissioners approved the plan for a 23-story, 400-room Westin hotel, to be built by Delray Beach-based Ocean Properties Ltd. According to the plan, the county will have ownership of the hotel for 99 years. After that, Ocean Properties Washington CC Renamed After Former Mayor, While HQ Hotel Plan Moves Ahead Washington, DC—On Nov. 5, the Washington Convention Center was renamed after former mayor Walter E. Washington, who passed away in 2003. Mayor Adrian Fenty hosted a private ceremony for city officials and the family of Washington, who was elected DC’s mayor in 1967, under President Lyndon Johnson. To get the public used to the new name, employees have used it since midSeptember. Across the street, the city finalized a deal to acquire a 60,000-sf lot where a 1,150-room headquarters hotel will be built by project developers Marriott International and RLJ Development. The agreement didn’t come easily, preceded by disputes over location Wilmington CC Still Debated; Mayor Says No Taxpayer $$$ Wilmington, NC––Council members are still divided over the $6 millionconvention center project that has lingered over the past decade, reported local NewsChannel 3. The project has been facing several hurdles. Most recently, Virginia Beach, VA-based real estate and construction company Armada Hoffler turned back its proposal to build a full-service hotel next to the convention center. As a result, that portion of the project has been reopened for bid. Five companies are in the stakes. Meanwhile, Wilmington’s city council convened in early November to deliberate on the future of the convention center. Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo said in an interview that he wouldn’t feel comfortable voting for its construction if it requires local taxpayer dollars. If the project moves along, it will probably be funded by a 3-percent hotel room occupancy tax. The proposed convention center would have approximately 120,000 sf, including 56,000 sf of meeting space. By press time, a decision had not been announced. If council members were to approve the project, construction would begin right away. H www.meetingnews.com DC Mayor Fenty (l.); Mayor Washington’s swearing in. 24 MeetingNews November 19, 2007 http://www.meetingnews.com

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