First Impressions. The Outside View that Lasts Longest

The first thing you see when you arrive at a hotel is often the place you're least likely to spend your time. Nevertheless, it matters.

Brian Bethel, Abilene Reporter-News Published 4:00 p.m. CT March 27, 2019 The Abilene Industrial Foundation has invested nearly $170,000 in private resources to assist the city of Abilene in its quest for a downtown hotel, Abilene Chamber of Commerce president Doug Peters said this week. That total includes $75,000 to serve as the project's franchise application fee to Hilton Hotels for a DoubleTree franchise. Based on two separate market studies, "we believe that this hotel project will not only benefit downtown, but will also generate additional hotel business that benefits all the hotels," Peters said. The AIF board's decision represents a continuation of partnerships held with the city for nearly three years. The Abilene City Council will vote Thursday to form the Abilene Convention Center Hotel Development Corporation, a nonprofit entity that would own the hotel. Paying for itself "(The) council will vote ... to stand up the local government corporation, which is a public-private partnership that will own the hotel," Peters said. "They will enter into an operating agreement with a hotel operating company." Approvals recently have come back from the state, including an opinion by the state attorney general's office, Peters said, "that the proposed structure of ownership by a local government corporation" will satisfy requirements. That would allow Abilene to apply revenues the hotel generates toward the cost of building it. "We would hope that sometime in in the summer, there could be a ceremonial groundbreaking," he said. "There would be a period of time where the pre-development work is taking place, which is the architectural work, the design, the schematics, the utility planning and placement, site prep, (and) taking down that old utility building that the city uses there on that block." The office will be relocating to the former Kmart site in west Abilene, where a new Abilene Police Department will be headquartered. "Ultimately, my hope is that we could have a hotel standing in our downtown, roughly 24 to 36 months from that date," Peters said. Multi-step process It would be the end of what has been a long process, Peters said, that includes requiring passage of legislation that would allow Hotel Occupancy Tax generated by the hotel to pay for the project. That in turn created a two-year period to "to get our program together to qualify for those funds" and make certain that "we're building the very best possible business model so that there is no tax implication on the back of Abilene taxpayers." And then, there has been the process of "negotiating the flag" the hotel will bear, he said. "Whether it's a Hilton or Marriott or whatever, all those things take time," he said. "So my big fear through this whole process has been what I call deal fatigue. People hear this, the promise of something over and over and over, but it never seems to happen. "People just get tired of hearing about it." But with the steps the council is taking Thursday, and other steps that have led to this point, the deal that Peters called "the single most complicated" in his 33 years of professional experience is closer to coming to fruition. "There is not one piece of this, that has not been very thoroughly thought out," he said. "... I think it's going to exceed the community's expectation, both from its structure, what it will do from a catalytic perspective, and then certainly, what it will do to to help drive additional investment and growth, not just in the downtown, but all across our community." Long-term goals The revitalization of downtown has long been seen as an amenity that will inspire younger people to want to live in Abilene and be a part of the workforce, "which we know we have to have in order to attract industry and jobs for everybody," Peters said. The hotel project — which would be funded through a mix of around $40 million in private investment, a $7 million local private sector donation, some remaining Tax Increment Financing funds and the HOT dollars — is not designed to make any one person rich. “"We want to be able to go out across Texas, across the southwest and really anywhere, and encourage groups of 100 to 400 and even more to hold their conventions here so that it benefits everybody in this community."” Doug Peters, president Abilene Chamber of Commerce "City Council members are still going to get paid the same $1 a year whether this hotel is built or not," Peters said,. "They're not going to make a nickel more off of it. And I can tell you that the chamber doesn't benefit. "But who does benefit is the entire community, particularly those who do business in this community." Two different hotel market assessment companies came to similar conclusions about the project, Peters said. That has fostered belief that the project will benefit not just create development downtown but should also generate "additional hotel business that benefits all the (city's) hotels." That information, and the longtime partnership with the city, prompted the AIF board to spend the $75,000 in private funds for the application to Hilton, Peters said. Investment in community The Abilene Industrial Foundation is a decades-old industrial recruiting and retention arm of the community and it a function of the Chamber, he said. "It is private and membership-based, and is comprised of industry leaders, community and civic leaders, and those who want to see our community grow and prosper for the betterment of all of Abilene," he said. Each year, these companies invest in the work of the Abilene Industrial Foundation, such as during a recent fund drive last fall. "The funds invested by the members of the AIF are used to drive economic development in our community," Peters said. Those pooled funds are used to pursue opportunities that are not typically within the scope of work of the Development Corporation of Abilene, Abilene’s 4A sales tax entity. "Because the DCOA’s interests are largely focused on industry recruitment, retail, commercial, office and special projects fall to the Chamber’s AIF," Peters said. It is up to the members of the AIF to choose to invest that private money, from the AIF’s opportunity fund, into projects that have potential to advance the economic interests of Abilene. "The members of the AIF understand the value and long-term impact a catalytic project of this nature can have on Abilene, and thus have supported it from the beginning because they know that a vibrant downtown is good for all of Abilene, not just one person or one group of people," Peters said. There are "very few" communities Abilene's size, Peters said, that have the market that will support the development and operation of a full-service convention hotel. "And that's really what we wanted, because we want to be able to go out across Texas, across the Southwest and really anywhere, and encourage groups of 100 to 400 and even more to hold their conventions here so that it benefits everybody in this community," he said. That benefit should ripple out, he said, "whether you're working in fast food and you're serving these people as they're coming into the community, or you're selling flowers that are then used to decorate the tables when these folks have their their events here." "That product does not exist, and that's why it requires a creative approach to getting it done," he said. About DoubleTree The first DoubleTree location opened in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1969. The company began franchising in 1989, and 10 years later twas acquired by Hilton Hotels Worldwide. In 2011, it was rebranded DoubleTree by Hilton. DoubleTree today has more than 500 hotels in 40 countries and territories. It competes in the "full-service" hotel industry alongside its sister chain Hilton Hotels & Resorts