News for the Hospitality Executive |
Kansas City Downtown Convention Hotel Steering Committee
Selects
the Power & Light Site; Next Step Will Be to Move
Forward
with an RFP Process for Developers
Kansas City, Mo.
� May 6, 2010 - After extensive evaluation of potential Kansas City, Mo.
Downtown Convention Hotel sites, the Convention Hotel Steering Committee
voted on April 26th to move forward with a recommended development site
for the 1,000-room convention hotel project. This recommendation includes
the historic Power & Light building located at 14th Street and Baltimore.
The Site Selection Sub-Committee began meeting last August with eight sites in mind for a future Convention Hotel near the existing Kansas City, Mo. Convention Center Complex. They participated in a walking tour of these sites, researched possible tax incentives, listened to presentations by property owners and developers, and were advised by a consultant, Convention Center Hotel Advisors, LLC, regarding these sites. In October, the Site Selection Sub-Committee narrowed their recommended sites down to four possible locations. The Committee carefully reviewed the remaining sites with the help of a scoring matrix. The matrix details included: Site Factors, Urban Context, Transportation, Cost, and Acquisition Timing. The Power & Light site was determined to be the best location. �The momentum created by the millions of dollars spent on downtown reinvestment in recent years, including the Power & Light entertainment area and the Sprint Center, makes the location of the Power & Light site a perfect fit,� stated Councilwoman Cindy Circo, co-chair of the Hotel Steering Committee. �Right now, considering the existing investment we have, the Power & Light building site, both for the immediate future and five to 10 years out, is the smarter move,� said Bill George, Committee co-chair. Documents have been executed with the City of Kansas City securing public control of the site for the next 12-18 months and the competition for development proposals and brands is wide open to all potential developers. Next steps in the process will be for the Steering Committee and Kansas City, Mo. Council to determine whether to move forward with an RFP process for developers, contractors and hotel brands/operations. This determination will be made over the next several weeks based upon a variety of factors, including an economic impact analysis which is currently being conducted. |
Contact:
City Council Office
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