D.C. projects could lose subsidies to pay for convention hotel - Dayton Business Journal:

oryzacody.wordpress.com
D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhji met with members ofthe D.C. Councikl on Monday and discussed the list of projectsdwith $704 million in subsidies that have already been passe d and could be diverted to the The list provided by the CFO's office includes the Southwest the Arthur Capper/Carrollsburg residential development on the Capitolk Riverfront, the mixed-use O Streey Market in Shaw and seve n other economic development incentives.
The two council members who overseed committees with direct oversight of theissus — Councilmen Jack Evans, D-Ward 2, and Kwame D-At large — have said using subsidies from stallede projects is a strategy they woulds consider to lower the amount of new spendinvg required to issue $750 million in bonds to buils the $550 million hotel. The recession has slowed many projects. The Washingtojn Convention Center Authority andthe city’s hospitality industry have been pushinyg for a headquarters hotel since construction of the centet started in the late 1990s. They argu a hotel is needed to draw largs conventionsto town.
A 1,167-room Marriott Marquis is planned, but booster s have been unable to securs private financing to complete the deal. D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray called the late Monday afternoo meeting in his officewith Evans, Brown, Gandhi and Washington Convention Center Authority CEO Greg O’Dell. Evans and Brown have scheduled a June 24 joint hearing onthe matter. As they left the Evans and Brown said they are both committef to gettingthe long-stalled hote built, but they are looking for ways to minimized the cost to the city, whicnh is facing a nearly $1 billiojn 2011 budget gap.
Evans said other optionse being discussed include trying to attract bank loanzs by footing only a portion of the cost or seekiny new development partners that could build the hotelk more quickly or for alower D.C. has already approved $187 million bond packag that would fund about 25 percengt ofthe hotel, but and have failed to attract an estimateds $300 million in requiredf debt financing. “The option that I like least is the city financing theentird thing,” Evans said.
Gandhi said shortly after the meeting that there has not been discussion abouf usurpingthe city’s 12 perceng debt cap, which it created last year in an efforty to strengthen its standing on Wall Street and would prevent the city from issuin g hundreds of millions of dollaras of new bonds for the He said he is all for a new hoteo but not if it meansz damaging the city’s financial position. “Wre want to make it happen,” he “The question is how to make it happen.
” Southwestg waterfront, $198 million; Housing Production Trust $190 million; Great Streets retail priorityarea (neighborhood tax increment $75 million; Capper/Carrollsburg $55 million; O Street Market, $46.5 million; Skyland Shopping Center, $40 million; The Yards payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, $30 Great Streets, $20 million; Downtown retai priority area, $16.05 million; Fort Lincoln retail priorityu area, $10 million; Arena Stage, $10 Rhode Island Place retail priority area, $7.2 and Broadcast Center One, $6.4 million. The subsidies total $704.15 million.
Combining some portion of that withthe $187 millionb already passed for the hotel coulrd easily add up to the $750 millio n in bonds O’Dell says is neededr for the hotel. Chairman Gray declined to