Published: November 12, 2008 11:42 pm      

Threefoot alternative

Just before the city council has to make its final decision on the Threefoot Hotel Project, local hotelier Abdul Lala, president of Lala Enterprises and owner of 12 hotels in Mississippi and Alabama, has stepped in and effectively told the city, "Hey, wait a minute! I've got another idea."

Lala wants to build a $30 million dollar new Hyatt Place franchise hotel and banquet hall on the west side of 23rd Avenue, across the street from the Kress building. The hotel would be all new construction and would require the demolition of several buildings on the two blocks between 23rd and 25th avenues and Fifth and Sixth streets.

Lala said he will only build the hotel if the the council rejects the proposal from New Orleans based developer HRI Properties to renovate the blighted downtown Threefoot building into a Courtyard by Marriott hotel.

HRI's proposal asks that the city contribute up to $14 million in loans to the project. They have been working with the city for months, and would have to gain council approval before the end of the year in order to take advantage of the historic tax credits needed to fund the $45 million project.

HRI has developed numerous successful historic preservation projects, but has encountered some problems in the current economic climate. Their $227 million Renaissance hotel in downtown St. Louis, Mo. is in danger of foreclosure because poor hotel performance left HRI unable to make the bi-yearly $3.5 million interest payments, according to the St. Louis Business Journal. Like the proposed Threefoot project and many of HRI's other renovations, the Renaissance was partially funded with taxpayer money.

Lala has had previous talks with the city, but did not present his ideas to the public until a press conference Wednesday morning. He said he thinks his project is more likely than HRI's to succeed because of it's 1,000 person capacity banquet hall, on site parking, and Hyatt Place franchising.

"Its got to be a hotel that drives business into downtown day in and day out even when there's not a convention in town," Lala said, adding that the project is "not historic in nature but certainly complimentary to downtown."

Hyatt Place hotels have large standard rooms, which all include a sleeper sofa, a 42 inch flat panel television, and a "plug panel" that allows guests to use their DVD players, video game consoles, and other devices in-room.

Most Hyatt Place hotels have seven guest rooms on the ground floor, but Lala plans to use that ground floor space to house a Starbucks and several retail facilities which may include a sundry shop, a clothier, and a Meridian themed gift shop.

"It's key to know that we will do all of that," said Lala Enterprises Project Manager Dede Mogollon. "We're not waiting on anyone else to come and invest in downtown."

Mogollon said Hyatt Place is geared specifically toward business travelers, and that all Hyatt Place hotels include express check-in/check-out kiosks, a lounge offering beer and wine, and easy access to small meals 24 hours a day.

The hotel would be seven to eight stories high with about 135 rooms. The average rate is projected to be $140 per night.

Both Courtyard by Marriott and Hyatt Place are classified as mid-level hotels, and each offer some amenities that the other lacks, according to franchise Web sites.

Though he has asked that the Threefoot building be renovated as "anything but a hotel", Lala said he does not think passing up on the HRI proposal will seal the fate of the Threefoot building for demolition. Mogollon said architects working for Lala Enterprises have indicated that the market for historic preservation is good, and that historic preservation projects are "popping up all the time".

"What can be done (to preserve the building), we don't know," Mogollon said. "But we know some people we can ask."

When asked by an audience member Wednesday why Lala Enterprises doesn't simply build their hotel in the Threefoot building, Mogollon said that the location would not allow for on site parking or a large banquet facility, and that Lala Enterprises was not in the business of historic preservation, anyway.

"We build from the ground up," she said.

Mogollon said the project has relieved "mixed emotions" from city officials, and said she does not envy the decision they will have to make between the Threefoot Project and the Lala hotel.

"We truly feel our tourism future is at stake," Mogollon said. "We haven't even scratched the surface on our convention market, and to do that we need a fabulous hotel and a banquet space."

When asked, Mogollon said she did not know yet whether Lala Enterprises could guarantee to the city council that they will complete the Hyatt project if the council rejects HRI's proposal.

For more information on Hyatt Place hotels, visit www.hyatt.com/hyatt/place. For more information on Courtyard by Marriott hotels visit www.marriott.com/courtyard.

Look for more details on this story in this Sunday's edition of The Meridian Star.