Jan. 26–The Odessa City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to set aside about $30.8 million for the proposed downtown hotel and convention center, drawing money from multiple funds for the portion of the project funded by taxpayers.
The entire project is projected at about $75 million, with a private investor or investor group bearing most of the cost.
The Council in November approved a conceptual design and financial breakdown for the project. The proposed city portion of the cost is higher than the $27.7 million reflected in the conceptual design.
The $30.8 million figure includes costs of a $16.6 million convention center, along with renovating the Ector Theatre, installing infrastructure and building a 300-space parking garage and plaza.
The money appropriated for the project would come from a various funds. The more-than-67,000-square-foot convention center would come from hotel occupancy tax funds. The total $6 million for the theater renovation and plaza would come from the general fund. And the parking garage and other infrastructure, a total of more than $8.2 million, would come from Odessa Development Corporation funds.
The Council is scheduled to vote on authorizing the ODC funds ahead of the ODC board, scheduled to vote on the matter Feb. 11. (Per the agenda: "Because of the extensive involvement of the City Council in this effort and its particular interest in Downtown, the resolution is first being placed on the City Council agenda.").
The Council still has yet to finalize a development agreement with the would-be private investor and developer Gatehouse Capital, the Dallas-based company putting the project together.
After appropriating the funds, the Council would still have to vote on whether to approve and expenditures or contracts associated with the project when those expenditures exceed a value of $50,000.
City leaders describe the proposed project as the anchor of a broader downtown development, and Council members are scheduled to vote separately Tuesday on other downtown improvement measures that the ODC would help manage. Again, the ODC board is not scheduled to vote on the measures until Feb. 11.
One is a "Downtown Infrastructure Improvement Program," co-sponsored by the City of Odessa and the ODC, which would offer grants to developers of downtown properties on a case-by-case basis. The boundaries of downtown are defined as First Street, Adams Avenue, 10th Street and Bernice Avenue, and only properties within those boundaries would qualify.
The grants would target infrastructure improvements, including parking, slights, roadway upgrades, rail spurs, utilities, drainage, telecommunications and Internet improvements and so forth. The funds would be awarded as reimbursements only.
The program also calls for a "design committee" that would consider grant applications and make recommendations to Council.
The second, similar measure is a "Downtown Building Fa?ade Improvement Program." That program would enable the ODC to reimburse up to 80 percent, but not more than $20,000, toward the cost of building fa?ade improvements for downtown businesses. Businesses could qualify for another $10,000 to address corner buildings or buildings of "exceptional size" or located on two or more lots where improvements are necessary.
Churches and nonprofits would not be eligible.
Such improvements could include paintings, murals, masonry or other siding work, structural improvements and restoration of historical details, among other enhancements. Projects such as new construction, routine maintenance or landscaping would not qualify.
IN OTHER BUSINESS, THE COUNCIL WILL
— Consider approving minutes from the Jan. 12 council meeting.
— Consider authorizing a purchase of 116 Taser units for the Odessa Police Department with a five-year warranty and maintenance plan at a total cost of more than $206,000.
— Consider authorizing Odessa Fire/Rescue to apply for an Emergency Management Performance Grant.
— Consider approving an Odessa Development Corporation contract with Government Insight Services. The $5,000 line-item would pay for the consultant to gather economic development data, perform a target industry analysis, make an incentive competitiveness comparison and draft a proposed incentive policy.
— Consider awarding a more than $1.1 million bid for improvements to Salinas Park to Onyx Contractors.
— Open a public hearing and vote for the first time on whether to approve a request of Kimberly Barry of Tejas Shooting Sports to rezone from a central business district to a planned development at the northwest corner of East Eighth Street and North Tom Green Avenue. The council will also open a second public hearing and vote for the first time about whether to grant the business a specific use permit to allow an indoor fire arms range at the business.
— Remove from the table and consider a request by 87th Street Partners for original zoning of a retail development on about 19.3 acres of land, original zoning of a multi-family development on about 11.3 acres of land, original zoning of a single family development on about 34.5 acres, single family-surface drainage on about 48.1 acres of land, rezoning a 0.38-acre drill reservation to a single family development, rezone a special dwelling district to a multi-family development on about 5.2 acres of land and rezone from a special dwelling district to retail on about 5.3 acres of land in Sections 34 and 39, Block 42. The land is north of the intersection of East 87th Street and Yale Avenue.
— Consider a resolution allowing an industrial district agreement with the owner of Lot 1, Block 1, Miether Addition.
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