Directories
Quick Searches
Find a Job
Quick Search
For Employers
Yahoo! HotJobs Local Search
ESCONDIDO: Deadline looms for Escondido hotel developer
By DAVID GARRICK - Staff Writer | ∞
ESCONDIDO ---- City officials are slated to meet Monday afternoon with the developer of a proposed downtown Marriott hotel to discuss Thursday's financing deadline for the project.
Assistant City Manager Charlie Grimm said this week that he was unsure whether the developer, C.W. Clark of La Jolla, had secured enough additional loans or investors to begin construction of the seven-story project.
Clark officials did not return phone calls this week.
When Clark missed a previous financing deadline for the project in late September, the City Council gave him a three-month extension. But council members have said they are unlikely to grant another extension if Clark again falls short.
The city's agreement with Clark calls for the city to contribute $18.9 million to the $67 million project.
With the city facing a $7 million budget deficit because of plummeting sales tax revenue, some critics have suggested that city officials kill the hotel deal and use the $18.9 million to balance the budget and avoid drastic cuts to fire, police and library services.
A majority of the council has said it would be foolish to use a "one-time" windfall to cover expenses that will remain in the city's budget year after year. If the Clark deal falls through, the council has said it plans to hold on to the money until another economic opportunity comes along.
City officials and merchants have predicted that the hotel would attract restaurants to Grand Avenue and persuade more tourists to visit Escondido. It would be built on a 75-space parking lot between City Hall and the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
More Stories
Advertisement
- Burst pipe causes 70-foot-deep sink hole in Carlsbad (2501)
- REGION: State green power plan will cost consumers billions (1487)
- HOUSING: Fraud victims struggle to regain cash, credit (1412)
- REGION: Talk of new immigration bill gets mixed reaction (1130)
- VISTA: Grocer brothers suspected of threatening former butcher (1049)
Advertisement
Videos
Advertisement