Denton city officials were back in front of the Denton County Commissioners Court on Tuesday morning to discuss the proposed hotel and convention center project.
Project developers and officials are hoping the county will sign on to participate in a tax-increment reinvestment zone that would see the county giving to the developer a chunk of the money earned from property taxes for the new complex, which would be built on land owned by the University of North Texas near Apogee Stadium.
Under the proposal, the county would give $2.3 million in tax money back toward the development over the life of the deal.
While no vote was taken Tuesday, more discussion was had between commissioners and the public ahead of what will eventually be a final vote.
Jon Fortune, assistant Denton city manager, again went over the particulars of the proposed hotel and convention center and the TIRZ that the county may or may not sign off on.
Under the proposal, a full-service Embassy Suites hotel with about 318 rooms and a Houlihan’s restaurant would be built. Both would be funded by O’Reilly Hotel Partners Denton and represent an investment of about $60 million.
Once Fortune was finished, Commissioner Hugh Coleman took the opportunity to ask a list of questions he said came from concerned constituents.
Coleman asked if the county would be obligated to any of the debt incurred by the bonds sold for the hotel and convention center should it be forced to close later. Another fear, Coleman said, is the university could take over the complex and eventually take it off the county tax rolls.
“These are questions people are asking, and if there is a possibility, you need to tell us,” Coleman said to Fortune.
Fortune said he did not think there was language in the deal that would let UNT take over the complex.
Coleman acknowledged that the county participation in the grand scheme of things would be small, but he said the 800-pound gorilla in the room is the Denton school district. The district hasn’t yet decided whether to participate in the TIRZ.
Tim O’Reilly, the developer of the project, was on hand to field questions from commissioners, and Coleman put him on the spot with the last of his initial list of questions.
“If the county doesn’t participate, does that kill this deal?” he asked frankly.
“It’s not up to me,” O’Reilly said.
The decision would be up to the investors to make the decisions based on how the county’s participation or lack thereof would affect things.
“We will make the decision together,” O’Reilly said. “I can’t tell you that right now. I can tell you it’s very important.
He stressed that every entity should have a stake in the project.
“This is the only thing we’re asking the county to participate in with us, the ones [investors] coming in and spending $60 million in the community,” he said.
Commissioner Andy Eads made the point that the county is already a partner, putting millions into the roadways and making travel to what would be the convention center site easier with work on Interstate 35E and 35W and FM2499.
“We are creating the gateways to this project, creating the avenues, if we do or do not participate for $2.3 million over 30 years,” Eads said. “It’s important to realize in the bigger game, Denton County has been a very big partner with the city of Denton.”
County Judge Mary Horn questioned the logic of building a convention center near the interstate and a residential neighborhood. She said it would hinder future development.
When given the chance for public comment, residents Kathy Wazny, Mike Cochran and David Zoltner expressed their opposition to the project for several reasons — from the location to what Zoltner said were inflated occupancy projections.
“We have one shot at this,” Wazny said. “If we blow this decision and build it at the wrong spot, we don’t have a second try. We don’t have the money for a second try.
“I have walked away from real estate deals where I signed a contract, put earnest money down and did my homework and said, ‘Wait, this is not a good business decision.’ We have the information to say, ‘We can do this better.’”
Commissioners agreed to discuss the matter further in executive session at an upcoming meeting as they work toward their final vote.
BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875 and via Twitter at @BjLewisDRC.
