From the Iowa City Press-Citizen:
The new owners of the Sheraton hotel in downtown Iowa City are asking for the city's help in making major renovations on the property, an official said Friday.
Wendy Ford, Iowa City economic development coordinator, said the Economic Development Committee will meet with representatives of the hotel's managing company, Davidson Hotel Company, at its Tuesday meeting.
The committee will hear about the company's plans to invest $11 million to rehabilitate the hotel and discuss city assistance in the form of tax increment financing rebates, partial commercial property tax exemptions and amending the parking agreement for the Dubuque Street Parking Ramp...
...According to information sent to committee members, the owners plan to make upgrades including replacing heating, air conditioning and ventilation units that are 25 years old and redecorating the interior.
What do you want to bet that Iowa City taxpayers (and Federal taxpayers, since it was an "urban renewal project" back then), forked over a lot of dough when that hotel was stupidly built in the middle of Dubuque St?
Now the new owner wants taxpayers to fork over more millions for redecoration and a new HVAC system.
Here's some more important information at the bottom of the story:
The Sheraton has changed ownership multiple times in recent years. Columbus, Ohio-based RBD LLC announced in April that it bought the 234-room Sheraton for $9.5 million.
The company purchased the property from Ashford Iowa City LLC, a Dallas-based company that acquired the hotel for nearly $19 million as part of a seven-hotel, $267.2 million sale in 2006, according to Johnson County real estate transaction records. The hotel previously was owned by MeriStar Investment Partners, which bought the hotel in 1999.
Wow!In 2006, the hotel was sold for nearly $19 million.
A year and a half later it's sold for $9.5 million.
WOW!!!!How does a property in downtown Iowa City lose 50% of it's value
in a year in a half?
Now a new bunch of interlopers and thieves want to put taxpayers on the hook for $11 million in renovations and upgrades.
And why? So they can turn around and sell the "asset" again to another group of interlopers and thieves from another part of the country or world? Let's face it, absentee/interloper ownership of commercial property is one of the biggest reasons why things fall apart and fail.
Local ownership improves things considerably.
And sorry, Charlie, but somebody has been making money over the past 25 years by renting out rooms, selling lunch and dinner, and holding conferences. And as long as the hotel remains open, you'll continue to get revenue from doing those things. Maybe you should use some of that money to help finance your fixes?
Check out this noise from Wendy Ford, the "Iowa City economic development coordinator":
Ford said the hotel's new owners have indicated that without city assistance, the facility will not get the updates it needs and will risk losing the Sheraton flag. The loss of the brand could result in lower occupancy, a decrease in property value and hotel tax collections.
Does it really matter if that ugly building is a Sheraton or a Holiday Inn or a whatever?
What's the worst case scenario with that building? Eventually it will become so devalued that the University of Iowa might as well pick it up as an additional dorm or office building. Why not? They did the same thing with Mayflower about 30 years ago, didn't they? They've taken over more than half of Old Capitol Mall. The hotel is just a couple blocks away from the Pentacrest. It would actually make sense.
If taxpayers are going to pay for that hotel in perpetuity, then it ought to be owned by the taxpayers. (...but not operated as a hotel...)
Didn't I read where they wanted to move the art museum somewhere downtown? Move it there.
You've got all those bars downtown. Renovate part of the building to be high-end dorms for all those moneyed Illinois drunks.
Finally, from the story, is this:
The new owners also are asking the city to vacate its Dubuque Street easement, which runs through the middle of the hotel. They said the 24-hour walk-through has adversely affected business, from staff having to clean mud and human waste from the floor to late-night fights that happen in the area, making guests uncomfortable and leaving the hotel liable.
As an alternative route to the pedestrian mall, the committee will consider a proposal to enhance the city-owned Dubuque Street Walkway between the Sheraton and Martini's Bar by adding more lights, security and public art.
I know that area. Ain't gonna happen. No city gives up easement rights.
Besides, and this is the 25 year old question:
What the hell were they thinking when they built a goddamn hotel in the middle of the street in a college town?It's like when they built that mall right next to the Pentacrest. Just
brain-dead trendy planning.
"Urban renewal" was a giant sucking sound of bad ideas by government flunkies, mostly. It cost zillions of dollars, and is still costing money.
Look at downtown Davenport, still a hellhole. Who wants to go downtown, even with the
Skybridge?
Same thing with Waterloo, where the interstate just runs out. What's down there? Nothing.
Or Cedar Rapids, where they stupidly decided to "save" downtown by building all these raised roads and bridges that wind around through the area, decimating neighborhoods, so that in winter the roads can freeze up quickly and cause a lot of car accidents. That downtown also has nothing.
About the only town that has sort of figured it out is Des Moines. Sure, they screwed up with urban renewal initially in the '70s and '80s. All the businesses worth a crap fled downtown for the burbs even with the occasional new buildings, brick roads that only buses could travel on, and streetscaping that everybody ignored but skateboarders. But lately they got the west end figured out by just knocking everything down and starting over. Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor of preservation and things like that, but in some cases you've just got to napalm everything and start from scratch.
