Sep. 4, 2003 - The developer of the President Hotel wants more time to complete a new private loan and is asking preservationists to back his request to the city.

Ronald D. Jury, the owner of the downtown building, said Wednesday he has a $24.1 million loan commitment from the Marshall Group of Minnesota and plans to ask city officials to give him until Dec. 31 to complete the deal.

"I'm pretty excited," he said. "There is no question the hotel will be a success with all the additional things going on with the planned Performing Arts Center, arena and Bartle Hall expansion."

Jury wants to convert the President into a 214-room hotel operating under the Hilton flag. He also plans to restore the old Drum Room and other well-known public spaces in the 77-year-old landmark.

The redevelopment project at 14th Street and Baltimore Avenue has been languishing since an earlier private financing commitment fell through last year. Jury owes about $2 million to contractors for work already done.

The building remains empty and other developers have told the city its dilapidated condition has cast a shadow over their plans. One is the proposed renovation of the Kansas City Power & Light Building directly across Baltimore from the President.

In July, the Kansas City Tax Increment Financing Commission agreed to give Jury until the end of August to secure another loan. In return, Jury promised not to sue the city should it terminate its redevelopment plan.

The city has approved up to $17 million in tax increment financing bonds for the $46.7 million project. The TIF Commission is expected to take up the matter at its monthly meeting Monday.

The developer said his loan commitment from Marshall should meet the conditions set down by the TIF Commission in July to keep the development -- and its city incentives -- alive.

The additional time is required, Jury said, to allow sufficient time to complete the transaction and enable time for the closing to occur in eight weeks.

Andi Udris, president of the Economic Development Corp., the parent agency of the TIF Commission, declined to comment.

Jury said companies holding liens on the property were willing to give him more time. Most of the money is owed to the contractor, J.E. Dunn; architect, Gastinger Walker Harden, and B&R Insulation, he said.

Company officials could not be reached for comment. An attempt to reach the Marshall Group also was unsuccessful.

Jury also is seeking support from the Kansas City preservation community. The President is on the National Register of Historic Places and had been host to many celebrities and events before it closed in 1980.

"I hope that every citizen and historian who has an interest in Kansas City's history and wants to see the rebirth of the hotel attends the TIF meeting," he said.

Jane Flynn, president of the Historic Kansas City Foundation, said her group has been monitoring the President situation, and it has been a regular topic at the group's monthly meetings.

"I would judge the largest majority of historic preservationists would be in favor of saving it," she said.

Jury also cited support from another source for his project, HVS International, a New York firm that monitors the hotel and hospitality market.

Critics of the President project, notably Udris, have cited statistics that indicate the local market as being soft. They have said another city-subsidized downtown hotel would harm other hotels receiving city assistance.

Stephen Rushmore, president of HVS International, said his company is projecting that the Kansas City hospitality market will experience a good recovery over the next few years.

THE DETAILS: The TIF Commission will discuss the President Hotel at its monthly meeting at 8 a.m. Monday. The meeting will be held in the Economic Development Corp. board room, One Petticoat Lane, second floor.

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(c) 2003, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.