PINE BLUFF -- The Plaza Hotel in Pine Bluff, which is connected to the city's convention center, has a new owner: the Pine Bluff Urban Renewal Agency.
The five-story, 200-unit, 175,000 square foot hotel opened in 1988 as the Wilson World Hotel and in later years operated under the Ramada Inn banner, but has fallen into disrepair. Several years ago, officials closed off the hotel from the convention center because of the hotel's dilapidated condition.
The Urban Renewal Agency purchased the hotel Monday for $1.2 million, which city officials said paves the way for the hotel to once again become an economic force in the city.
Joseph McCorvey, director of the Pine Bluff Convention Center, said that in the two years since he took over the helm of the convention center, the hotel has been an impediment in attracting convention business. Although many of the details remain to be worked out, McCorvey said the purchase of the hotel by the city is a positive step forward.
"The main thing is that we've made the move of getting the doggone hotel, which has been an albatross around my neck since I've been here, which will be two years Jan. 2," McCorvey said Monday. "This move today means we can put our feet on the ground and move forward whereas before we were just sitting idly by and wondering what was going to happen."
McCorvey said the city has issued a request for qualifications and will take proposals until Dec. 27 in an effort to attract a hotel franchise to operate the facility. Sealed proposals will be opened in January. He said acquiring the hotel is a major step forward, but added it is only one step. Before the city can see any benefit from the property, it will have to be renovated and a quality hotel operator will have to be found.
"Everybody in this business knows that if you have a convention center, you've got to have a hotel in close proximity, if not connected to that facility for it to be successful," he said. "It's not going to work like it is now. You've got to get the hotel in play and with a major flag on it, a Marriott or a Hilton brand."
Maurice Taggart, director of the Pine Bluff Urban Renewal Agency, said Monday was a big day for him personally, noting that when the hotel was known as Wilson World, his step-father, Timothy Armstrong, operated a shoeshine business in the hotel lobby. Taggart personally delivered the $1.2 million check to cover the purchase price to Jefferson Title Co., LLC., where the documents transferring ownership were prepared.
"He used to shine shoes in there when it was Wilson World and it was a fully functioning hotel with a bar, a full restaurant, an indoor swimming pool, boutique stores; it was a first rate hotel," he said. "I told my old man about it and he was elated.
"I told him the hotel is going to be back in good hands and he was excited about it, I'll tell you. I remember going in there and he was charging $5 a shoe; he was the only shoe-shiner in there. I remember those days. I was a little boy, and when I say that place was booming, that place was booming."
Taggart said the hotel is a key piece of property needed to help drive economic development forward in the city.
"The hotel and convention center are right in the heart of the urban renewal area," he said. "We've not only lost out on business but Mr. McCorvey has gone out to recruit other conferences and the main thing they say is that the hotel is not functional."
Fixer-Upper
In October, city officials estimated the hotel would need between $8 million and $10 million in renovations to get it up to the standard needed to attract a major hotel operator, but declined on Monday to say if that estimate is still accurate.
McCorvey said an estimated cost and method of financing of the renovations, and a time-frame will not be known until the city gets further into the process of selecting a hotel operator.
"I'd hate to put a figure on that right now because we have to assess the condition of the building as it is now and go from there," he said. "It's really hard to put a time on that because even once everything is lined up, it's going to take about a year-and-a-half to even do the work on it. But you have all of these related pieces -- the financing and who's going to run it and the agreements -- so it's hard to say.
"The main thing, though," McCorvey added, "was getting this hotel. That is step one and it puts us in the position of being able to control the destiny of the property."
Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington said once the hotel is renovated and re-opened, she expects it to be a hub of operations for the city in attracting convention and conference business, sporting events, and even family reunions.
"We know that we have a hotel coming up at the casino, but it can't host it all," Washington said. "We think this hotel will be more of a family-oriented environment."
The Quapaw Nation is building Saracen Casino Resort, a $350 million development on the eastern edge of the city at the junction of U.S. 79/63 and Martha Mitchell Expressway that will include a 300 room full-service hotel. The casino is slated to open in early summer with completion of the hotel scheduled for Dec. 2020.
"Today is really a monumental occasion," said Ryan Watley, chief executive officer of Go Forward Pine Bluff, on Monday.
Go Forward Pine Bluff is an organization that is trying to stimulate the economy, increase the population and draw tourists.
"You think about all the ups and downs of that hotel over the past decade or more, it has really had a negative impact over that time when we thought things would be positive," Watley said. "It is really monumental for us to get control of that hotel and I'll say that it will never leave the hands of the city again because we don't want to wind up in this same situation."
The hotel operated as the Wilson World Hotel from 1988 until 1999, when it was sold to Howard Hotels LLC for $2.5 million, according to the Jefferson County Tax Assessor's website. In 2004, it was sold to Royal Arkansas Hotel & Suites, Inc. for $1.6 million, then sold again in 2007 for $1.45 million to Arkansas Lodging, LLC.
Finally, according to the website, it was sold at auction for $550,000 to JM Hotels, Inc.
For months, the mayor and the city council have wrangled over the issue of whether the city should buy the hotel, how it should be operated, and how the renovations should be financed. In 2015, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported that the city offered a former owner, Bruce Rahmani, $500,000 for the property, but the offer was rejected.
In October, the city obtained a resolution of support from the Advertising and Promotion Commission, which oversees the collection and spending of a 2% restaurant tax and a 3% hotel tax in the city.
By accepting the non-binding resolution, the Advertising and Promotion Commission agreed to four primary conditions: that it support the establishment of a convention center and hotel complex; that it support the design and cost estimate phase of the hotel; that, contingent upon renovation cost, it consider allocating a portion of tax dollars it takes in to satisfy the debt service; and that it would be relieved of any financial responsibility associated with the hotel if the hotel were to generate net income above that required to service the debt.
State Desk on 12/24/2019