Sep 19, 2014 - Schaeffer also said that he was unable to divulge any information. The idea for a hotel and conference ce
Conference Center Still Alive? Council To Hear Request For Oct. 14 Public Hearing By BRYAN GILKERSON Daily News-Record September 19, 2014 HARRISONBURG — Just like the mythical phoenix, a proposed hotel and conference center for downtown Harrisonburg may be rising from the ashes. The project, thought to have died in June after the James Madison University Foundation backed out, is listed on the agenda for City Council’s meeting Tuesday night. According to the published agenda, the city and the JMU Foundation in recent weeks have “reengaged in discussions about the project and appear to have a tentative agreement on new contract language,” subject to approval by both parties’ attorneys. A request will be put before council to authorize the advertisement of a public hearing on Oct. 14. During that hearing, more details about the project will be presented for the public. According to the previous plan, brought as an unsolicited proposal before City Council in September 2012, a public-private partnership would have earmarked $10 million to be spent on the conference center and an additional $30 million for the hotel in a project to be known as Hotel Madison. While the JMU Foundation would have paid the upfront cost of the conference center, the plan called for the city to reimburse the cost through its Industrial Development Authority. The IDA, according to the proposal, would have repaid the foundation for the cost of building the conference center by providing grants, which would have been based on the annual revenues the complex was expected to generate. Funding for the hotel would have come from Paul Gladd of the Maryland-based development firm dpM Partners. The 21,000-square-foot conference center and 205-room hotel would have sat on land owned by the university and bounded by Martin Luther King, Jr. Way and South Main, Grace and Mason streets. But in June, the foundation’s board backed out of the project after the city requested changes in the financing agreement between the parties. Speaking by telephone on Thursday, Gladd said, “The parties have agreed to revisit the deal that was being negotiated.” He identified City Manager Kurt Hodgen and JMU Foundation President Thomas Schaeffer as
being in the lead in seeking new negotiations. Information on the negotiations or tentative agreement was not immediately available Thursday. “We won’t have any other details of the hotel and conference center at this time,” said MaryHope Vass, city spokeswoman. Schaeffer also said that he was unable to divulge any information. The idea for a hotel and conference center to service the downtown area has been a goal of Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance for several years, and the group welcomed the news that the once-dead project may still have life. “We are delighted that the parties to the project have resolved differences that will, hopefully, allow the project to move forward,” said Eddie Bumbaugh, executive director of HDR, in a Thursday email. In June, when the previous negotiations collapsed, Hodgen said it was important that the city not “extend” itself too far financially, minimizing its risk in the project. Whether council would have supported the previous deal or how it may respond to a new proposal is unclear. Mayor Ted Byrd opposed the project as had been proposed, while Councilman Charlie Chenault was in favor. Byrd previously said that he welcomed the hotel, but he did not support public financing for the conference center. Contact Bryan Gilkerson at 574 6267 or bgilkerson@ dnronline. com “We won’t have any other details ... at this time.” — MARY-HOPE VASS CITY SPOKESWOMAN
