The committee gave full endorsement to a proposal by Dallas-based Garfield Traub Development LLC for a $203-million Sheraton hotel on city-owned land. But in doing so, it also endorsed parts of a proposal for renovation and expansion of the existing Hotel Arizona and another by local investors Allan Norville and Chris Ansleythe for a mixed-use project to be anchored by a Marriott hotel.
The proposal by Garfield Traub, which has other hotel projects in progress or completed in six states and Puerto Rico, envisions a 707-room hotel with 14,000-sf ballroom, full-service restaurant, bar and lounge, retail space and possibly residential condominiums. The precise location would be determined after the site is selected for a 12,300-seat, $130-million city arena. Although a tentative arena site has been identified, other sites are still under consideration.
Humberto S. Lopez and Roger Karber, owners of the Hotel Arizona, proposed a 700-room Hilton hotel created by the renovation of the existing 250-room structure and building a 28-story tower on an adjacent parcel, which is now used for parking. The proposal was formally submitted by Phelps Development LLC and Hensel Phelps Construction of Greeley, CO. The committee recommended only the first portion of the proposal, with the city buying the hotel and its 3.3-acre site for $3.3 million to pay for the renovation and leasing the property to Lopez and Karber, with or without the participation of Phelps.
Norville and Ansleythe, who were involved in development of Tucson's JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa, proposed a mixed-use project combining a smaller hotel with offices, restaurants, retail space, parking and a gem museum. The committee recommended that the city nix the proposal, but purchase the seven-acre site for $17 million for development by a different entity.
Seven development teams originally bid on the project in June, with the field narrowed to four finalists. The committee recommended dropping the fourth finalist's proposal--a team of Austin-based Faulkner USA Inc., San Diego-based Southwest Value Partners and Chicago-based General Growth Properties Inc., which wanted to build a mixed-use project anchored by a Hyatt hotel.
The committee's recommendation requires city council approval, but Garfield Traub partner Greg Garfield tells GlobeSt.com that support appears to be running strong. "The three-pronged approach gives the city far more than was anticipated," he says. "Having a greater number of hotel rooms will make it possible to book larger conventions."
The biggest questions, says a spokesman for Tucson city manager Mike Hein, involve the feasibility of finding an operator for a renovated Hotel Arizona without construction of a tower and the willingness of Norville and Ansleythe to sell their property. The council is expected to make a decision by Thanksgiving.
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