City Commission plans to move ahead slowly on possible downtown hotel/conference center
By Christopher Curry
As seen in the Gainesville Sun
The Gainesville City Commission is in no rush to push ahead with the plan for a potential downtown hotel and conference center.
The City Commission had put out the call for private sector interest — issuing an invitation in February to negotiate — and received two responses. The two groups, Michigan-based Acquest Realty Advisors and a Savannah, Ga.-based limited liability corporation known as Gainesville Hotel & Conference Center, each have prior experience in the development of hotels and conference centers. In their initial response to the city, representatives of each group said they would seek financial assistance and tax rebates — although more specific details would not come until the city proceeds with a second phase of the invitation to negotiate.
Still, City Manager Russ Blackburn said the requested incentives and assistance appeared substantial.
“For the city to do the things that one or both of these firms are suggesting is a really big stretch for us,” Blackburn said during Thursday’s City Commission meeting.
Against that backdrop, the City Commission decided Thursday to not move ahead with the proposals for now, while also not officially rejecting them.
“The bottom line is I don’t see a dire need to rush on this project,” Mayor Craig Lowe said.
Lowe also said he believed the city needed more interested firms before it could move forward.
For now, commissioners directed staff to see if any other local partners might contribute financially toward the project.
Commissioner Lauren Poe suggested forging a partnership with the University of Florida.
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