| By Bill Wilson, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.McClatchy-Tribune Regional News Jul. 8--Add two potential hotels to the list of developments before the Park City Council. Derby Land Investment Group will ask the council tonight for $2.7 million in industrial revenue bonds and a three-year, 100 percent tax abatement. The financing package is earmarked for a two-phase hotel project at the Air Capital Truck Plaza, at 61st Street North and I-135 in Park City. The two phases will bring about 110 rooms to Park City, said Wichita insurance agent Hasu Patel, who heads Derby Land Investment Group. If approved, the hotels would be the latest projects in an entertainment corridor the city is trying to create. It is already anchored by Wink Hartman's new arena and the prospect of Wild West World's revival by a Florida land developer. Plans call for a 55-room Express Inn & Suites Hotel behind the Super 8 in the truck plaza, Patel said. Included will be seven suites and a meeting room holding up to 50 people. If that hotel succeeds, the second phase will be a 55-room hotel such as a LaQuinta or Comfort Inn, Patel said. "The north side is growing real good," he said. "At the same time, we knew all along that Wild West World would be sold and a casino might come.... There's no hotel along the highway between 47th Street South and there." The IRB and tax abatement issue before the council doesn't cover the second hotel, said Jack Whitson, Park City's administrator. "We'll take a look at that when it happens," Whitson said. Park City needs more hotel rooms, he said. "If we develop this entertainment corridor here we're going to need more hotels to service people in for events and stuff," he said. Hartman's arena is under construction. And AHG Group, a Florida land developer, closed last week on Wild West World and is negotiating with operators to lease the park. The park's Johnny Western Theatre will reopen in 60 days, with the amusement park's return probably delayed until next spring. Reach Bill Wilson at 316-268-6290 or bwilson@wichitaeagle.com. ----- To see more of The Wichita Eagle, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.kansas.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Wichita Eagle, Kan. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |
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