Alder. Katie Nash questions Downtown Hotel in Mid-Term report

The City's leading alderman, Board President Katie Nash is unhappy with the City staff's management of the Downtown Hotel project, she says in a mid-term report to constituents. Here are her comments in full:

"One controversial capital project I expect to come before us? The 2015 proposal for a hotel and meeting center on Patrick Street. I completely support the fact that a City of our size is due for a robust hotel downtown that supports the level of employers we must attract. 

"I am concerned, to be candid, that this project (dating back 8 years with the exact same partner from an out-of-date request-for-proposal) is struggling. I know from my private sector experience that a struggling project becomes a liability. 

"I have serious questions about the financing, traffic plan, and need for an updated concept that takes into account the hotels that have come onto the market since 2015. In 2023 I asked for a public meeting for this project at least three times - this request has been ignored.

"I have also indicated that I believe the City should issue a new Request for Proposal to account for the changes in the market and to better understand our potential private sector partner(s). 

"I am entering my third year as a member of the Board of Aldermen and I have no idea what the full public benefit is for this project or how we will proceed with construction to meet the large gap in financing requested from the current private sector partner (as of August 2023 Plamondon was requesting more than $23 million in public money in addition to what has already been provided - we have not been provided a public cost breakout of these funds)."

COMMENT: The Mayor's reported behavior in ignoring Alder. Nash's requests for a public meeting on the future of hotel project is, first up, rude. Common courtesy and respect for the leading elected official call for a response. It's also part of a broader clam-up. In the 2010s the City had constant meetings for 'presentations' or 'workshops' on the project. And there were flyers they updated regularly called One-Pagers (in fact they were two pages back to back on a single sheet.) The City DED and Plamondon both had promotional material on websites. Efforts to get state support were first put to the Board of Aldermen. But in the 2020s they've gone largely silent. The website stuff is several years out of date. City staff's approach to the Moore administration for the $1m grant and the Governor's November 14 visit to Frederick and his appearance for a press conference at Plamondon's hotel site were a surprise. Maybe the City administration has decided it's got too difficult to make the case for the project in public, and it will do better working with Annapolis out of public view. P. Samuel.

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