The development agreement was just amended this past December between the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority and Starwood Carpenter Convention Hotel LLC, which is Starwood and its local development company, Carpenter & Co. It limits Starwood's damages to its costs for the hotel's design, permitting and development. That figure is capped and it is unclear if Starwood has invested more than that at this point in the process. Reportedly, Starwood would also be entitled to a return of its $15 million deposit, but that money was considered nonrefundable so it is unclear if Starwood would actually be able to retrieve that amount.

According to Andy Antrobus, spokesperson for the MCCA, deadline for opening the convention center is the end of the first quarter in 2004, although the agreement does include a number of provisions. Because MCCA is not very far along in the development process and because the ground lease with Starwood was not yet signed, Starwood is not entitled to more than the $3 million if the convention center opening is postponed. If these situations changed, Starwood could receive an annual rent abatement of $8.42 million during a delay.

It is ironic that it is the convention center that could potentially hold up the proposed project here. It was Starwood that had difficulty financing its $270-million 1,120-room hotel. It was only this past November, when Starwood reduced its development and management fees and received a reduction in rent, that it was able to privately finance the project.