GlobeSt.com UPDATE: Revised HQ Hotel Proposals Due in August

PORTLAND, OR-The Portland Development Commission this week released its latest revised schedule for deciding which of four development teams will win first shot at negotiating an agreement for development of a headquarters hotel across from the Oregon Convention Center. The new date for selecting a developer is in mid-October, about 90 days behind the original schedule.In mid-June, after much lobbying by owners of existing hotel properties in town that stand to lose business to the proposed headquarters hotel, the PDC directed staff to ask the four development teams vying to build an 800-room hotel across from the Oregon Convention Center to submit new cost and financing estimates for a minimum 400-room first phase. The Request for Proposals sent out in September called for a minimum 600-room first phase. The revised numbers were requested in the form of an addendum to the RFP. The original RFP was sent out in September 2004. The addendum was sent out at the end of last month. Responses are due back Aug. 5, according to information released Wednesday by the PDC. Public hearings are scheduled before and after the hotel evaluation committee makes its recommendation to the PDC in mid September. The PDC is scheduled to make a final decision on Oct. 12. After that, PDC staff and the selected development team will begin negotiations for a Memorandum of Understanding with regard to the project and, eventually, a more binding Disposition and Development Agreement. The teams are led by Jones Lang LaSalle and BPM Development; Ashforth Pacific and Garfield Traub Development; Hines Interests and Wright Hotels; and Faulkner USA. Their original proposals for an 800-room hotel ranged in price from $180 million to $237 million. Only two of the four teams offered up private financing options, and both still required tens of millions in public subsidy. The public financing option in all four proposals is largely the same, calling for a special purpose entity to own the building and finance its development with tax-exempt bonds. For previous GlobeSt.com stories on the convention center hotel, click on one of the following headlines:

• GlobeSt.com UPDATE: PDC to Issue Addendum to Hotel RFP
• GlobeSt.com UPDATE: PDC Again Delays HQ Hotel Decision
• GlobeSt.com UPDATE: PDC Delays Headquarters Hotel Decision