Local: They are laughing at us in St. Louis
From a St. Louis Post-Dispatch blog:
Here in St. Louis, we now know the folly of listening to consultants who promise that a big new hotel will attract more convention business. Our downtown Renaissance Hotel, built on the basis of such projections, has just defaulted on its debt payments. But 180 miles to the northeast, the consultants are still making such promises, and the leaders of Peoria are in a mood to believe them.
The Peoria City Council endorsed a plan last month that would provide $39 million of public financing for a new Marriott Hotel attached to the Civic Center. In one respect, the city would be making an even greater commitment than St. Louis did: Peoria appears to be talking about issuing general obligation bonds, which the city would repay out of tax revenue. St. Louis’ convention hotel was financed with revenue bonds, with no obligation for the city itself to make payments.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
This is actually good news, it means we’re not completely off the map (yet)
January 8th, 2009 at 12:15 am
If only someone could have seen that coming.
January 8th, 2009 at 12:39 am
How many fingers have to point??? How many??? Before we accept what a truly terrible idea this is. Throw it in the bin where it belongs. Please.
January 8th, 2009 at 1:25 am
Peoria’s (new) Marriott hotel project will happen, whether or not YOU critics like it…. End of story! See You at the groundbreaking?
January 8th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Downtown St. Louis has a plethora of lodging and convention options. Peoria does not. Entirely different market. Billy, have you investigated the reasons that hotel is failing?
January 8th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
I strongly suspect that St.Louis has more lodging and convention options because it’s a much, much larger city has more already existing tourist and entertainment options. Building more hotel space on the taxpayer’s dime will NOT help bring in more tourism. It’s the tail wagging the dog.
January 8th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Now is NOT the time to spend money on a hotel expansion hoping for the ever-elusive “convention” dollars. Peoria is smaller but not all that different from St Louee. Neither place is a dream destination. Period. “Build it and they will come” was a movie line. We live in real life in real time.
January 8th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/business/09insure.html?hp
January 9th, 2009 at 11:23 am
I was born and raised in Peoria and owned two houses there. I gradually got tired of the city government’s plans to turn the town into a Workers’ Paradise of money-hemorrhaging everything, because it was becoming a poor place to live. I gave myself a binding referendum on all this crap, and will move back the day that Willie York is elected mayor. “Peoria” above, is one of the tiny group who stands to avoid risk or make money on this project, something that would never get done without the public trough. See you at the bankruptcy hearing?