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[emerging.me]

City Authorizes Developer to Proceed with Hotel Plans

By JOHN C. DRAKE
Staff Writer


Columbia is one step closer to having a deal for a Hilton hotel to serve the convention center, scheduled to open in the Vista in two months.

City Council voted 5-2 Wednesday to sign a nonbinding letter of intent with Windsor/Aughtry Co. of Greenville to build a 225-room Hilton hotel adjacent to the convention center. The city — which still must find the money — would contribute a subsidy of roughly $3 million to the $25 million project.

Developer Bo Aughtry says he can have the hotel built by Dec. 31, 2005, provided there are no further delays in negotiations.

“The longer this takes, the more difficult this becomes,” said Aughtry who also owns the Hampton Inn on Gervais Street. “We’re moving forward as if we’re going to build the hotel.”

While not a contract, Aughtry said the letter gives him the assurances he needs to justify spending money on the additional architectural and design work needed to upgrade his plans from a Hilton Garden Inn to a Hilton. He can also use the letter in negotiations with Hilton Corp. and with potential lenders.

Council members Hamilton Osborne and E.W. Cromartie voted against signing the letter of intent, but for different reasons.

Osborne said Aughtry’s initial proposal of building a Hilton Garden Inn, without any city funding, never received serious consideration.

“I don’t know where the $3 million is coming from,” Osborne said. “There’s never been a vote of this council for the upgrade.”

In June, City Council accepted a committee’s recommendation that the city negotiate with Aughtry to build a Hilton with the $3 million subsidy. At the time, council members said the subsidy was negotiable.

As to where the money would come from, Mayor Bob Coble said, “We’d have to find it.”

Cromartie said he refused to vote for moving forward until he had a better idea of what Aughtry was offering. He wants to visit hotels that have the amenities Aughtry plans to include in the hotel.

“I’m not going to support something until I know how the $3 million is going to be spent,” Cromartie said.

Councilman Daniel Rickenmann, frustrated with questions about items that would be included in each hotel room, said the city should stop delaying and sign a deal with Aughtry.

“We either need to move forward or put this land up for sale and quit wasting everybody’s time.”

Assistant city manager Steve Gantt said the amount of city subsidy had been negotiated down to $2.69 million, because Aughtry offered to purchase the land for $250,000 and give the city a portion of some financing revenues. He said the prospects were dim for getting the figure lower.

“That’s about the end of the options,” he said.

Aughtry said the hotel he plans to build will meet all the specifications required by Hilton, except for ballroom space.

He said a ballroom larger than 3,000 to 4,000 square feet, big enough for about 300 people, would compete with meeting space available at the convention center.

Edited by emerging.me, 22 July 2004 - 09:13 AM.

[emerging.me]

Edited by emerging.me, 22 July 2004 - 09:15 AM.

[Spartan]

I think that this will be nice infill for that area. That part of the Vista has made grate leaps of improvement in the last few years. However, I also think Columbia is going hotel crazy. There are many hotels already, and thay aren't always filled to capacity. Now USC is bulding one, you have the Hitlon, and you have the "River Inn" Which might get built at Canalside.

So the list of already built and to be constructed hotels downtown includes:
The Adam's Mark
Hampton Inn
The Clarion (which is geting a nice facelift)
Holiday Inn
Comfort Suites
*USC Inn
*The Hilton
*River Inn

-For non Columbians: it should be noted that there are area just outside of "downtown" that have many other hotels like the Marriot, various extended stay facilities, etc.

[emerging.me]

That's a good point! Although, I think they really needed this project to make the convention center as successful as it could be -- it's risky enough.  I think a full-service place like this will really help draw major conventions.

[emerging.me]

Looks like this is a go! Awesome. From WISTV.com...

(Columbia) Oct. 20, 2004 - Plans for a hotel to serve Columbia's new Convention Center are moving forward.

Wednesday the Columbia City Council approved an agreement with a Greenville developer to build a 225 room Hilton Hotel at Senate and Park Streets.

The city will put up nearly $3 million dollars for the project.

[Spartan]

Sweet. I noticed that that old dilapidated house that was there has been removed. I thought that article from WIS would say more than it did

Now if they could only find someone iwlling to take on the Heart of Columbia Motel.......

[emerging.me]

Yeah, Heart of Columbia is a neat old building with so much potential! But it's in such a sad state of affairs, I wonder if it'll eventually get demolished.

[emerging.me]

Here's more on The Hilton from TheState.com...



City approves Hilton deal

Developer to get nearly $3 million

By JOHN C. DRAKE

Staff Writer


Columbia will pay $2.96 million toward the construction of a 225-room Hilton hotel to serve the new convention center and will provide half-price parking to hotel patrons at a new city parking garage.

The agreement between the city and Greenville-based Windsor/Aughtry Company, approved Wednesday, brings to a close months of contentious speculation over whether the city would help pay for a new hotel.

Vista Hotel Partners, which owns Windsor/Aughtry’s Hampton Inn on Gervais Street, will purchase the site at Senate and Park streets from the city for $250,000.

The City Council vote was 5-1 with Councilman Hamilton Osborne voting against. Councilman Daniel Rickenmann was absent. Rickenmann, who was out of town, had supported the hotel plan that included the city subsidy in an earlier vote.

The vote was good news for convention center officials. Meeting planners have been reluctant to book large gatherings at the $37.4 million facility because of uncertainty over an adjoining hotel.

Steve Camp, executive director of the Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports and Tourism, said six to 10 organizations have delayed a decision to meet in Columbia because the center does not yet have a hotel. That does not include meeting planners who did not even consider Columbia because of the lack of a convention center hotel, he said.

“I think we will see meeting planners respond to that action by City Council,” Camp said. “We’ll see planners start to book for late spring 2006 or summer.”

Bo Aughtry, Windsor/Aughtry’s chief executive officer, said he hopes to receive the city’s design review commission’s approval for the plans in November, close on the sale in December, and begin construction in January.

The hotel could open in early 2006, Aughtry said.

The five-page agreement lays out all the city expects to see in the hotel:

• Each room will contain a radio, television, hair dryer, coffee maker, iron and ironing board.

• The bathrooms will have granite countertops and curved shower rods.

• The hotel will include an exercise room, an outdoor pool, 24-hour convenience shop, a bell desk and 5,000 square feet of meeting space.

• “Particular care” will be given to the selection of beds and pillows.

The city will retain the right to approve the design of the initial structure, but will have no say in renovations or changes to the hotel after construction is completed.

Aughtry offered to buy the land for $250,000. The city initially had offered to donate the land to a developer when it issued a nationwide request for proposals to build a convention center hotel this spring.

Five developers offered proposals, and of the three finalists, only Aughtry said he could build a hotel without a city subsidy. However, he was offering the Hilton’s scaled-down Garden Inn, and the city insisted he upgrade the proposal to a Hilton.

Aughtry said it would cost $3 million and the city agreed to pay for the upgrade.

That process followed the city’s abandonment of a plan to build a full-service Hilton with $69.9 million in city-backed bonds.

Osborne has staunchly opposed any hotel deal that involves public financing. Osborne said he supports Aughtry building the hotel, but was convinced a Garden Inn would have served the city’s needs.

[emerging.me]

Good stuff! Confirmation that it is actually a full-fledged Hilton and not just a Hilton Garden Inn. Awesome.

[Spartan]

I think I've said this before, but I was glad to hear that the Heart of Cola burned Anyway, Its good news that they approved it. I can't understand why they one guy voted against it though. The only reason i can come up with is that there will be alot of hotels downtown soon. I'd rather people stay downtown than out in St. Andrews though.

[The_sandlapper]

Spartan, on Oct 21 2004, 03:08 PM, said:

I think I've said this before, but I was glad to hear that the Heart of Cola burned Anyway, Its good news that they approved it. I can't understand why they one guy voted against it though. The only reason i can come up with is that there will be alot of hotels downtown soon. I'd rather people stay downtown than out in St. Andrews though.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey don't speak bad about the "Drews" now, that's where I grew up (Broad River Rd. & Piney Grove).

Edited by The_sandlapper, 21 October 2004 - 07:37 PM.

[Spartan]

I meant no offense I promise

I just meant that it seems crazy for people who have business downtown to stay out there. St. Andrews has its own office bulidings and it can probably sustain the hotels out there.

[emerging.me]

Craziness. Get the frickin' thing up!!!  

From THESTATE.COM....


Hotel designs sent back to the drawing board

By JOHN C. DRAKE

Staff Writer


Architectural renderings of the convention center hotel are disappointing, the city’s design commission said Tuesday.

The Design/Development Review Commission sent Greenville developer Bo Aughtry and his Memphis-based architect back to the drawing board, describing plans for the 222-room Hilton as sterile and dark.

“You’ve got eight stories of a blank wall,” said commissioner Robert McClam. “It’s a disappointment, and it scares me.”

Danny Bounds, of Bounds and Gillespie Architects in Memphis, designed the building. He also designed the Hampton Inn on Gervais Street, which Aughtry also owns.

Commissioners said the Hampton Inn had a more interesting design. “Some of the inspiration there didn’t come over two blocks,” McClam said. “This one seems kind of sterile.”

Aughtry and Bounds said they understood the concerns. “We’ve been kind of rushing it, and it’s OK,” Bounds said.

Some commissioners questioned the dark, brick exterior, saying it resembled traditional-style buildings on Gervais Street.

Commissioner Walter Sims said the building, which will be at Senate and Park streets, ought to fit into the more modern architecture of the Convention Center and other surrounding buildings.

Aughtry, who has insisted that the hotel needs to be self-sufficient and not depend on convention business, said it should not look like the convention center.

Commissioner Nancy McCormick said the building was so large that too much brick would be overbearing. The exterior is 95 percent brick.

“It’s really gonna be this big, dark object in front of the State House and really incongruous with the State House and a dark presence in this neighborhood.”

Commissioners also were concerned that the most conspicuous part of the building, which would face Park Street and be visible from Assembly Street, was particularly unappealing. The front faces Senate Street.

“Park Street looks like your service entrance, and Park Street is a main, visible area,” McClam said.

Bounds said he would add more detail and other features to “bring some life into it.” He also said designers would reconsider the size of the windows and the roof line, which one commissioner said made the building look like a grocery store.

“We want it to look good. We want it to fit,” Aughtry said. “I want a hotel down here that we can be proud of.”

The commission must approve the hotel’s design before construction can begin. The next meeting is Jan. 4.

[emerging.me]

Quote

Some commissioners questioned the dark, brick exterior, saying it resembled traditional-style buildings on Gervais Street.

Commissioner Walter Sims said the building, which will be at Senate and Park streets, ought to fit into the more modern architecture of the Convention Center and other surrounding buildings.

Obviously, I haven't seen the design, but I'm with Sims. There's no reason it shouldn't look like the Convention Center.

[btoy]

Windsor / Aughtry is the developer that did the Poinsett Corners Condos in Greenville and I beileve that they are the ones doing the Hampton Inn at RiverPlace.

[ResearchMan]

I think the design was bland...but it should not be made to look like the Convention Center Annex.  Perhaps a more modern look.

What they should do is get Stevens & Wilkinson's plans which city council liked and  tweaked so much. They should buy those plans to help with the exterior look. In return Stevens & Wilkinson could drop the $4.3 million price tag their attorneys says the city owes them.  That way the developer gets a hotel the city likes, Stevens & Wilkinson recovers some of their expenses, and the city gets a hotel they planned for and lower their liability.

Edited by ResearchMan, 09 December 2004 - 08:47 AM.

[emerging.me]

Quote

What they should do is get Stevens & Wilkinson's plans which city council liked and tweaked so much. They should buy those plans to help with the exterior look. In return Stevens & Wilkinson could drop the $4.3 million price tag their attorneys says the city owes them. That way the developer gets a hotel the city likes, Stevens & Wilkinson recovers some of their expenses, and the city gets a hotel they planned for and lower their liability.

Exactly! That was an awesome design. Why *wouldn't* they do this???

[ResearchMan]

Uhh..probably because it makes sense.

[emerging.me]

[emerging.me]

Saw today in the Free Times where Bo Aughtry is shooting for a June or July construction start for the Hilton. Says he hopes to have it open by the end of 2006. Finally!