By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A dilapidated hotel which has become an eyesore in downtown St. Joseph just might get new life.
St. Joseph city officials have outlined a tax break proposal intended to spark a $27 million renovation of the old Red Lion Hotel, vacant for the past three years.
St. Joseph Planning and Community Development Director Clint Thompson says though the hotel has undergone considerable deterioration, the potential developer acquired debt on the property that makes razing the structure and starting over too costly.
“In addition, with the cost of construction materials, the building itself has still a useful life,” Thompson tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “Its condition as far as the makeup of the bricks and mortar, the structure, are solid.”
St. Joseph City councilmembers will be presented a three-step tax break proposal during their April 4th meeting, what city officials describe as an economic development partnership with HDDA St. Joseph, a Nashville-based developer. It proposes turning the building into a Marriott-branded hotel with 169 rooms.
The incentive package proposes forming a community improvement district, a sales tax reimbursement agreement to offset the cost of redevelopment, and filing a Chapter 100 under the state program that abates the property taxes on development generated by improvements to the property.
Thompson calls this an economic development partnership with current owner HDDA St. Joseph.
“This project is not unique for HDDA to take on,” according to Thompson. “They look for markets that are underperforming and have an opportunity to succeed, based on the market share.”
Thompson says the fate of the Red Lion was sealed, not because of a lack of occupancy, but because the company that owned the hotel went bankrupt. One year as a vacant property turned into two and, then, into three. Deterioration set in. Homeless people moved in only to be chased out, only to move back in. Deterioration continued until it grew into an embarrassment.
Still, even with the years of neglect with the hotel falling on hard times, it is structurally sound, according to Thompson, making renovation feasible.
Thompson says if the council approves the proposal, St. Joseph residents can expect a transformation of a badly deteriorated hotel.
“A modern hotel that will be able to serve not only St. Joseph’s residents, but also attract visitors to St. Joseph as well.”