Portland's main urban renewal board voted Wednesday to enter negotiations with developers proposing to build 600 hotel rooms near the Oregon Convention Center.
A rendering of one of four proposals by Mortenson Development. This proposal calls for two hotels to be built north of the Oregon Convention Center.
A rendering of one of four proposals by Mortenson Development. This proposal calls for one large hotel to be built north of the Oregon Convention Center.
The Portland Development Commission, which oversees urban renewal efforts in that city, voted 4-0 Wednesday to OK negotiations with Mortenson Development, the lead group proposing one or two Hyatt-branded hotels near the OCC.
Metro is leading efforts to bring more hotel rooms to the area around the convention center, in an effort to lure larger, national conventions to the Metro-owned facility. Officials hope to trade a public subsidy for a commitment to keep hundreds of hotel rooms available for big conventions.
Hyatt's proposal calls for a subsidy of $10 million to $23 million, depending on which of the four Hyatt proposals is selected. It also calls for a 30-year rebate of most room taxes; Willamette Week recently estimated that could be worth $111 million to the hotel's owners.
Development commission members had little to say about the Hyatt proposal, and PDC staff emphasized that the PDC board would still have to vote on any financing package and land sales that were proposed after negotiations with Hyatt and Mortenson.
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But attorney Tim Ramis, a lawyer representing several downtown Portland hotels including the Hilton, Westin and Benson, urged the PDC to be cautious and mindful of past mistakes. He specifically pointed to the PDC's involvement in paying for The Nines hotel in downtown Portland, saying poor market conditions caused The Nines to offer room rates so low it hurt other downtown hotels.
Ramis asked that the PDC, in its resolution, "provide assurance that the mistakes of the past are understood and will not be repeated." He asked that any hotel have a rate floor so the Hyatt would not undercut other hotels. He also asked the PDC require a 60-day period between the unveiling of a term sheet and the vote of the proposal at the Metro Council.
PDC Chair Scott Andrews disagreed with Ramis' assessment of The Nines' rates, and no members of the commission tried to insert Ramis' proposed amendments into the resolution.
"We're a long way from authorizing any public funds in any large way," Andrews said. "I'm comfortable we've answered enough of the questions at this point that we can move forward to the next step."
Five members of the public, including Ramis, addressed commissioners Wednesday. One of the five was Nischit Hegde, speaking on behalf of UNITE HERE Local 8, which represents hotel workers in Seattle and Portland. UNITE HERE has been engaged in a public, nationwide feud with Hyatt over labor practices, and both Metro and the PDC have indicated that they won't support the Hyatt proposal without labor involvement.
"We believe this project can bring more business into the city if it's done right," Hegde said. "We understand that things to date have been thought out, process-wise, very well. As the process enters the next phase, we'll continue to engage to ensure that this project is good for the city, Metro, hotel workers and tourists."
The Metro Council is scheduled to vote on authorizing negotiations at its Thursday meeting.
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