7 replies to this topic

[salvag]

I must say that I like the rendering very much.

[UrbanLandscape]

I must say that I like the rendering very much.

I like it except for the exaggerated overhangs on those roofs on it. Even so, it's an incredible improvement.

[John T Roberts]

The Ramada brand has been removed from the building signs as of this week. Currently it is the "Fort Worth Plaza Hotel".

[mosteijn]

From the Dallas Business Journal:

Contract expires to sell, renovate former Ramada property across from convention center
By David Giddens
Dallas Business Journal
Updated: 8:00 p.m. ET July 18, 2004

The planned sale and nearly $13 million renovation of the 430-room Fort Worth Plaza Hotel near Fort Worth's convention center has stalled.

Two months ago, a partnership consisting of Colleyville-based Realty Capital Partners and Addison-based Harrell Hospitality Group Inc., then the hotel's management entity, announced it would purchase the hotel, previously a Ramada property, in a deal valued at $25 million, including renovation costs.

The group had a sales contract with owner Damian Pudjiani, but that agreement expired last month. Harrell's management contract also has expired, said Pudjiani, who added that he has assumed the role of the hotel's general manager.

Despite the setback, both Realty Capital and Harrell officials say they're still eager to get a deal done for the 30-year old hotel, which sits across the street from the Fort Worth Convention Center at the southern end of downtown.

Though only 370 rooms are in use, proponents have said a renovation will help attract convention business by adding to the downtown hotel room inventory.

"We still believe the deal is good," said Realty Capital President Donna Arp, who is lining up equity capital for the project. "We feel the hotel is an excellent investment opportunity as it was priced, and we are still interested if the parameters are the same.

"He [Pudjiani] was wanting us to close earlier than what we wanted."

Harrell CEO Paul Barham, who has been working on the purchase for more than a year, also said he will continue to pursue the purchase.

"We like the project, and we like the city," Barham said. "It is going to be a great facility when it's renovated."

The renovation and purchase were delayed, he said, after unnamed investors who'd lined up on the project became nervous over various issues. Chief among them: the city's negotiations with Irving-based Omni Hotels for a 600-room, $90 million hotel on the other side of the convention center.

However, Barham added, both projects are needed and can co-exist from a financial standpoint.

"We've embraced the new (Omni) hotel, and its impact is reflected in our financial projections," Barham said. "The city needs those first-tier rooms, but there's room for us as well. It's just a question of the debt providers being comfortable."

Barham declined to identify potential investors for the project.

For his part, Pudjiani says he is ready to manage the property himself and will entertain other purchase and partnership offers.

"We don't have a sales contract any longer, and the hotel is still owned by our family, and we will manage it ourselves," said Pudjiani, whose family, based in Jakarta, Indonesia, has owned the hotel since 1991. "Right now the hotel is still for sale, but we plan to manage the hotel, increase the occupancy and do some renovations and repairs, and make it a player in the market again."
Incentives expire

Under the proposed purchase by Realty Capital Partners and Harrell, the property was scheduled to undergo approximately $13 million in renovations, including an exterior refit that would have updated the appearance to resemble recent renovations to the Fort Worth Convention Center.

Such extensive exterior upgrades will not happen now, Pudjiani said, unless he's able to pick up a strong financial investor or partner.

Before it dropped the Ramada brand earlier this year, a new national flag for the property had been discussed, with brands such as Sheraton mentioned most prominently.

Last year, the Fort Worth City Council approved nearly $13 million in tax incentives to Harrell to help accomplish the renovation, but that arrangement has also expired, Pudjiani said.

He added that he will consider asking the city for a similar package now that the original arrangement with Harrell has expired.

"Later on we will apply for the incentives when we are ready to upgrade," he said.

Although Pudjiani characterized his business traffic as "good," industry analysts say the hotel is going through some hard times in terms of revenue.

San Antonio-based Source Strategies, which tracks hotel occupancy and revenues throughout Texas, pegged the Fort Worth Plaza's occupancy rate at 37% for the year ending March 31, with revenue-per-room of $20.20. The revenue-per-room figure is based on a rate of $54 per night.

By contrast, downtown Fort Worth's Radisson, which has 517 rooms, had an occupancy rate of nearly 61%, with revenue-per-room of $52, according to Doug Sutton, a vice president for Source Strategies.

"If someone is willing to sink money into it, it may perform at an adequate level," Sutton said. "But it depends on how much money it takes to bring it back. At some point, it's very difficult to bring a hotel back, and many times in downtown areas, the land becomes more valuable than the property on top of it."

[Redshirt]

Posted on Wed, Feb. 15, 2006
Presidio seeks tax breaks for hotel
By MIKE LEE
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH -- Developers are seeking a $21.5 million incentive package from the city to help transform the aging former Ramada Hotel on the southern edge of downtown into a three-star Sheraton with a spa, restaurants and other amenities.

The California-based Presidio Hotel Group has proposed spending $46 million to buy and renovate the hotel, including buying and building on neighboring lots.

The hotel, now known as the Plaza, at 1701 Commerce St. near the Fort Worth Convention Center, has 430 rooms, but 185 are closed and conventiongoers have complained about its condition, officials said.

Under the proposed incentive package, the city would rebate $21.5 million in hotel-occupancy taxes to Presidio over 20 years. The money would come out of the taxes generated at the renovated hotel, said Robert Sturns, the city's business development coordinator.

Fort Worth would still collect the taxes that the hotel is paying in its current state, along with property taxes. The hotel is expected to produce $36.2 million over 20 years, meaning that the city coffers could receive $14.7 million in that time, Sturns said.

"It's all based on the performance of the property," he said.

Presidio would lose parts of its incentive payment if it didn't meet a series of goals, including spending 25 percent of construction costs with minority- or women-owned firms, creating jobs for 125 Fort Worth residents, and maintaining a three-star rating with a top name brand such as Sheraton, Hilton or Marriott.

Presidio owns five hotels in California, Hawaii and Oklahoma and is developing two more, Executive Vice President Guneet Bajwa said. The Fort Worth hotel "fits our model. It's a large hotel, it's next to a convention center," Bajwa said. "The city needs Class 1 hotel rooms."

The company plans to close on the hotel by the end of February. The City Council could vote on the incentive package by the end of the month.

Kirk Slaughter, the city's public events director, said that converting the hotel to a Sheraton could be a boon for convention business.

A recent study concluded that Fort Worth needs 1,500 rooms dedicated to conventions, and the deal would bring that number to 1,400, combined with other downtown hotels.

"There's certainly going to be some increased convention business," Slaughter said.

"We could also layer in some higher-end conventions."


Here's a link to the story: http://www.dfw.com/m...fw/13877020.htm

[Now in Denton]

[quote name='Redshirt' date='Feb 15 2006, 07:06 AM' post='21507']
Posted on Wed, Feb. 15, 2006
Presidio seeks tax breaks for hotel
By MIKE LEE
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH -- Developers are seeking a $21.5 million incentive package from the city ...........

Here we go again............................ and a again and again and again............