Mayor’s Statement on Three Selected Hotel Bidders

CITY OF EVANSVILLE
ONE N.W. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. BLVD.
EVANSVILLE, INDIANA 47708
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
LLOYD WINNECKE
August 21, 2012 Contact: Ella Johnson-Watson
For Immediate Release 812-436-4965

City Seeks Proposals from Three Hotel Developers

EVANSVILLE, IN – The Evansville Redevelopment Commission voted today to request formal proposals from three developers who have shown interest in constructing a new convention hotel in Downtown Evansville. The companies invited to submit formal proposals are Gatehouse Capital Corp., based in Dallas, TX; HWC, LLC, of Branson, MO; and Swerdling & Associates in Denver.
“I support the Redevelopment Commission’s action to move this project forward by asking three companies with a history of developing quality hotels to submit formal plans for new convention hotel for the City of Evansville,” said Mayor Lloyd Winnecke. “All of the companies responding to our initial request for qualifications are well qualified to handle this project, but the portfolio of projects of the three finalists matches best to our needs.”

Earlier this month, the Evansville Redevelopment Commission received qualifications from five companies interested in the hotel project. The other two companies were Acquest Realty Advisors, Inc., of Bloomfield Hills, MI; and Corporex Realty & Investment, LLC, of Covington, KY.

The Commission reviewed all of the qualification statements, including the companies’ recent experience with hotel development. Staff with the Evansville Department of Metropolitan Development,

Evansville Redevelopment Commission President Ed Hafer and Hunden Strategic Partners conducted phone interviews with all five developers.

“The three developers selected by the Redevelopment Commission bring more than $2 billion in current or recent hotel development experience to the table,” said Philip Hooper, Executive Director of the Evansville Department of Metropolitan Development. Hooper said the developments are in cities that include Indianapolis, Baltimore, Austin, TX, Jacksonville, FL, Hollywood, CA, and near San Francisco in Silicon Valley.

The next step is for developers to submit formal proposals to the Commission by October 1, with interviews to follow in October. The Commission plans to select a hotel development team at its November 6 meeting.