Hotel Bonds Pass 9 – 0, HCW has until March 2014 to Prove Financing

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Hotel EVV

In a unanimous vote the Evansville City Council tonight voted 9 – 0 to go forward with a resolution to issue up to $20 Million in bonds to finance $12.5 Million in infrastructure and a $7.5 Million incentive to HCW of Branson, MO to build a downtown convention hotel, a parking, garage, and an apartment comples.

This vote is the culmination of 5 years of failures by the City of Evansville to get a convention hotel approved for downtown Evansville. The financing of the deal is not disclosed but the sale of the bonds is contingent upon all other financing sources included a 25% stake by a local investment group, HCW’s equity, an a loan to HCW by an undisclosed financial institution prior to public funding.

This vote was in jeopardy of ever passing until a last weekend effort was successful in reducing the public contribution from $38.5 Million to $20 Million. The reduction in subsidy was forced by six members of the City Council, assorted groups of citizens for good government, and of course the City County Observer.

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25 COMMENTS

  1. For all of the small minded backbiting and snarky contributions from the peanut gallery, it actually came together. Bravo !

  2. The CCO has been successful in pushing their friends Lindsey and Friend into a corner so far so hard they will lose their seats in 2015.

    • Meh,nah. birds of an feather flock together.

      Elections vs flocks.

      Rule # 1 size matters.

      All the while some are talking ducks and such.

      happy,happy happy. 🙂

  3. “The reduction in subsidy was forced by six members of the City Council, assorted groups of citizens for good government, and of course the City County Observer.”

    It would be rather audacious for 6 council members, the CCO or any of the assorted groups of naysayers to claim credit for the successful reduction of public subsidies, or cementing the hotel deal.

    Consider if the Winnecke administration had first proposed the deal that was approved tonight. Do you really think the council and assorted naysayers would have supported the deal? Surely, considering how they bash any progressive idea that comes out of the Civic Center, I highly doubt it.

    Looks more to me like a decoy deal was thrown out, then the real deal presented after a sufficient time allowed for airing all the negativity and pounding of the breasts took place.

    In other words, the foxes got out foxed!

    On to the next issue.

    • What’s that say about the three council members (Mosby, Weaver and McGinn) who came out in favor of or leaning for the “decoy deal”? Were they part of the decoy? And what if two other council members were swayed by the rhetoric and decided to vote for the “decoy deal”? The citizens of Evansville would have lost over $17.5 million to the game players.

        • Yeah quack. Sure, but most real successful duck hunters stick to known migration paths.

          Even the prey, an successful duck has two options migrate south, or hang around an city park wait for an “handout” by some one getting rid of ole stale bread..chuckle, chuckle….feeding call. :-0

          • Finding an hotel deal.
            della duck. http. www. YouTube.com bugs and daffy duck season wabbit season.

    • I am going to have to agree that they were suckered. It is still a crappy deal. A hotel is still being given away like a hand out with future maintenance blowing in the wind.

  4. Only $85 Million Dollars worth of Credit left for Evansville,–Wow, lets get started, We can hit the limit , it’s within reach, I know you can do it, Mayor and City Council, reach for it. We’ve GOT to “save” Old Downtown at all costs, those against “progress” have “no vision”!
    Tax, Borrow, Spend, what a Grand Plan!

  5. Pitiful. The same Dumbella shill who told us that the wreck-half-the-Exec-Inn was great, then told us she hated it, then favored each moronic subsequent proposal in turn, assuring us that the finances of the developers were completely solid–until they weren’t. You would think that a Dumbella shill who had been completely wrong so very often would be ashamed to write again, but her do-nothing patronage job provides her plenty of time to humiliate herself.

    Say, Dumbella shills, how’s that great McCurdy renovation going?

    • You’ve got a good point about the McCurdy, howler. I noticed that the manager of the other downtown “Senior Living” development that Kunkel has, Market Street Living, was really lukewarm about its success when she was quoted in the article about the change of plans for the Riverhouse. You know, when the Mayor’s Office announced the change, and then retracted it.
      As for the hotel deal, it isn’t great, but I just want it over with.

      • In my opinion, the Riverhouse should be bulldozed and both those lots should be open for new development that benefits the city. Last time I went in that building was for the Tin Fish. I’m sure the building hasn’t improved since then.

        Kunkel’s market street living is probably too expensive for local seniors. It’s really, really nice. But it’s really, really expensive.

        Kunkel recently told me that they are still planning on doing the McCurdy project. Better late than never I guess…. Regardless, I applaud them for all the risk they have taken downtown.

  6. A banker who has been in Evansville going on 9 years now is being credited with doing a project that none of the politicians were able to execute.

    Looks like the real government had to step in on this one.

    __

  7. The difference between the City of Evansville and her citizens is that the citizens would never sign a contract to purchase a new home on a 20 years mortgage without knowing and approving the interest rate up front.

    __

  8. Pretty sweet deal for someone. The Evansville taxpayers should be thankful for such progressive leadership and continue to elect these great public stewards of their wealth.

    I’m sure the Mayor’s realtor spouse always encourages her clients to sign the purchase agreement now and check the financing details in a couple of years.

    • Not only that, the developer was required by the Mayor to sign a Project Labor Agreement with the local building trade unions. This will increase the labor portion of the project by anywhere from 15% to 25% or so, plus the featherbedding and some of the overlapping of work “rules”. Those will also jack up the cost. Typical for this area though.

      • You are right hound dog. That little grease job probably added $3 Million to the cost and all of it borrowed by the taxpayers. Watch these graft monkeys ask for the grease back come election time. Why can’t they hire non-union workers that are local and pay them the prevailing wage? No grease in that is there?

        • FWIW: Not sure about currently as I’ve been out of commercial construction for about 5 years now, but then in Evansville for City, County & school projects the specified “prevailing wage” was the union wage & benefit scale. Merit shop really didn’t have a chance to compete in this locality, thereby raising the cost of all governmental projects. Doubt that it has changed any.

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