Convention Center, Hotel Site Still in Flux

VANCOUVER, WA-Who will develop a hotel and convention center here and where it will be built remain a mystery this week, six years after the effort began.

Unable to secure the necessary financing commitments in time, Renaissance Resources Group of Arizona last week lost its right to exclusive negotiations with the Vancouver Public Facilities District for the project, three months after pulling the plug on a proposed 6,500-seat special events center that was part of the plans. The group, led by led by Jerry Jenkins, is now expected to compete for the hotel and convention center opportunity by filing a financial proposal with the Vancouver Public Facilities District prior to the Oct. 2 deadline.

Also in flux is the location of what remains of the would-be public-private endeavor. A location adjacent to Esther Short Park has had the most support for the planned 174-room hotel and 28,000-sf convention center, but the Port of Vancouver is now looking into the possibility of having the facilities built on its property on the Columbia River where the Red Lion Inn at the Quay now sits.