The City of Georgetown approved sending a letter to a hotel developer giving notice of its intent to issue bonds for a conference center. The terms of the agreement were discussed in a closed session Aug. 9.
City Manager Paul Brandenburg said the hotel group has not yet committed to coming to The Summit at Rivery Park, a planned development near I-35 and Rivery Boulevard, but the letter of intent will show the city’s support of the project.
“It’s a signal to them that we’re interested in working with them,” he said.
Negotiations have been ongoing for months between a hotel group and Brae Group LTD, the developers of The Summit at Rivery Park. Marlene McMichael, project spokeswoman for The Summit at Rivery Park, said in May that the development had a letter of intent from a hotel group to bring a conference center and hotel to Georgetown.
“We have been in negotiations with the city to structure the deal so it is doable in this economic climate,” McMichael said.
Brandenburg said the city supports the development for reasons including job creation, sales tax revenue, additional businesses that would surround the conference center and property tax revenue.
He said the city was in negotiations with a hotel group in 2008, but when the economy took a downturn the deal fell through.
“We had to go back to the drawing board,” McMichael said.
If the project moves forward, Brandenburg said the city will approve development agreements during open session.
The Summit at Rivery Park is located within a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone. In these geographic areas, property tax the city collects in the general fund is capped at whatever the assessed property value is when the zone is created.
As the property value increases through its development, any taxes collected above the set assessed value goes into a fund for infrastructure projects within the boundaries of the zone.
Developer Novak Brothers broke ground in June on the The Brownstone at the Summit, a development with single-family residences, in northwest portion of The Summit at Rivery Park. The hotel and conference center would be another component of the The Summit at Rivery Park.
“This is going to be something that the city and the county can be proud of and that everyone can enjoy,” McMichael said.
Visit www.thesummitatriverypark.com for more information about the The Summit at Rivery Park.
Latest Comments