PINE BLUFF -- A resolution sponsored by Mayor Shirley Washington to request that the city Advertising and Promotion Commission designate the hotel and convention center complex as the top priority in its 2020 budget was abruptly pulled from consideration by the mayor after the start of Monday's City Council meeting.
"When it came down to it, I felt like the Advertising and Promotion Commission had not had enough notice and enough time to fully absorb what was being asked of them so I decided to pull the resolution until they have a chance to examine it thoroughly," Washington said.
The mayor had previously brokered an agreement with the Pine Bluff Urban Renewal Agency to purchase the Plaza Hotel, which is connected to the city's convention center, and turn it over to the civic auditorium commission to renovate and find a franchise operator.
The plan to purchase the Plaza Hotel for $1.2 million and turn it over to the Pine Bluff Convention Center involves a renovation that will cost $8 million to $10 million, and would be financed through hotel revenue and taxes collected by the city's Advertising and Promotion Commission.
The plan has drawn fire from several council members. Those who objected cited the cost, the funding mechanism, or opposition to the city getting into the hotel business.
A resolution passed by the Pine Bluff Civic Auditorium Complex Commission contends that the current condition of the hotel "harms the recruitment of conventions and entertainment that will have a significant impact on the city." The commission struck an agreement on Oct. 15 with the Urban Renewal Agency to acquire and renovate the Plaza Hotel as a way to give the convention center a hotel anchor again.
A feasibility study commissioned by Go Forward Pine Bluff in conjunction with the Urban Renewal Agency that was conducted by Hotel Valuation Services of Flower Mound, Texas, concluded that the hotel can be profitable after a complete renovation.
State Desk on 10/22/2019