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$17 Million Downtown Hotel Approved |
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by Staff
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Friday, 22 February 2008 |
Plans for a proposed $17 million dollar, 105 room branded hotel in downtown Ithaca moved forward this week and with final approval, would further solidify Ithaca as an upstate hub of commerce, tourism and economic activity.
Ithaca Properties L.L.C. is proposing to build the eight-story hotel on the corner of Aurora and Green Streets on the same site that once housed the landmark Ithaca Hotel. The Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency demolished the hotel in 1966 to make way for new development and the city took ownership of part of the property. Ithaca Properties is now asking the IURA to approve the sale of the land to it, so the site can be redeveloped. An approval by the IURA and a final approval by the Ithaca Common Council would allow Ithaca Properties to submit formal site plans for the project, to the city. Those approvals will be considered in early April.
Ithaca Properties L.L.C. is not seeking any public financing for this project and will not ask for any tax abatements, either. The project will be financed entirely with private funds.
Downtown Ithaca Alliance Executive Director Gary Ferguson says, ‘This project fits our vision for downtown Ithaca on so many levels. It creates jobs, will generate sales, property and room taxes and makes it possible for more people to stay in the heart of our community and experience all that downtown Ithaca has to offer. This is the kind of private investment that grows communities and sends the message that downtown Ithaca is a place to do business and to stay when you visit the area for leisure activities.’
An estimated $652,000 in sales and property tax revenues would be generated by the hotel in 2010, according to an independent feasibility study conducted in 2007 by HSV Consulting. The study projects those figures to increase in subsequent years. The Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates the project will generate $2.5 million dollars in annual food and beverage sales in the downtown area. According to Ithaca Properties L.L.C., it will create 51 full-time equivalent jobs.
Just as importantly, the proposed hotel supports the objectives of the city’s Urban Renewal Plan, which was adopted in 2001. The plan calls for ‘expansion and diversification of the economic base of the community to provide the employment opportunities needed by its residents and to strengthen the tax base.’ The plan also calls for the ‘development of design concepts and standards to make the city a more attractive and pleasant place to live.’ The projected tax revenues, food and beverage sales and job creation figures will strengthen the tax base and help diversify the economic base of the city. Ithaca Properties L.L.C. has also voluntarily agreed to a peer-review of the project by a city-sanctioned architecture firm, to help further ensure the project meets the concepts and standards of the plan.
Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin later this year and be completed in early 2009.
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