Feb. 12–One of the downtown Midland projects meant to revitalize the area hit another delay Tuesday, prompting City Council to give developers a final extension, despite members’ frustrations with the lack of progress.
Council members provided 301 Ventures, LLC, developer of Hotel Fuel, an extension from Feb. 1 to April 1 for its groundbreaking and financial term sheet after developers appeared before council on Tuesday to explain that financing is not finalized.
In addition, council gave the city an additional six months to finish its demolition of the former Building of the Southwest and construction of a parking lot at the site.
Patrick Cordero, consultant for the Hotel Fuel project, said the delay was caused by California investors not being familiar with the Midland market, specifically the time it takes for appraisals to occur. 301 Ventures and its financial backer are based in Los Angeles.
“So in terms of the lending aspect of the project, (the developers) thought they would be done a lot sooner than they are now, and it’s dragged on a lot longer than we anticipated,” Cordero said. “But we feel comfortable with the extension. We will get everything we needed to get done in an earlier time frame for groundbreaking and all the things that we need to do for the hotel.”
Several council members expressed negative reactions to the developers’ failure to meet its original Feb. 1 deadline, mainly because it was the fourth time the project was delayed. Some council members said this would be the final extension.
“I’m willing to give them one more chance,” said District 4 Councilman J. Ross Lacy. “But if this deadline is not met, then I will not approve it.”
Jeff Sparks, of District 1, was the only council member to vote against the April 1 extension.
“The agreement is too convoluted at this point,” Sparks said. “They need to dad-gum start over. All these dates that have been put in place continually get moved back. They just don’t care about deadlines.”
Hotel Fuel, on Texas Avenue, is a 144-suite boutique hotel with kitchenettes in each room. The smallest suites will be 650 square feet; the largest will be 900 square feet. The hotel will also feature executive offices, workout facilities and lounges.
“There’s nothing like it in Midland,” Cordero said.
Developers expect groundbreaking by April 1 and construction to be complete within nine months to a year.
“I think today, we made it very clear that we support the project, we support revitalization, but you have to do your due diligence because you’re wasting a lot of the staff’s time,” Mayor Jerry Morales said.
In other City Council news:
— Members approved the installation of a splashpad at the Scharbauer Sports Complex at a cost of $406,750.52, funded by 4B sales tax.
The splashpad will replace the wiffle ball field behind the outfield of Security Bank Ballpark. It will spray water out from 10 large jets and 16 “eyeball sprays” during baseball games or when rented out for private use.
The system will recycle 4,000 gallons of chlorinated water. Depending on whether it is to be used as a display or as place for kids to play, the splashpad releases water at 1,000 gallons per minute or 400 gallons per minute, respectively.
“For the six years that I’ve been on the council, I’ve repeatedly heard from kids and parents that we need more things for kids or teenagers to do,” Morales said.
The splashpad is expected to be open by the summer.
— The council also approved an agreement with Dunaway Associates for engineering services involved with widening Fairgrounds Road from Pecan Avenue to Loop 250 at a cost of $99,825.
Dunaway Associates will provide Texas Department of Transportation-required services such as a conceptual plan, construction alternatives, cost estimates, right-of-way recommendations, environmental studies and public notifications.
The project calls for widening 1.3 miles of Fairgrounds from a two-lane road to a five-lane arterial road. The engineering services may be completed by summer 2015, with an estimated project completion date of early 2016.
