Downtown Tucson hotel a step closer to reality
When the auditors out pencil to paper, the numbers for approving a new downtown hotel were overwhelming.
If the city of Tucson gives the developer $6.7 million in tax incentives, the return will be nearly $18 million annually.
The hotel will be a 157 room Marriott at Fifth and Broadway, along the streetcar line.
It will be the first new downtown hotel in nearly 40 years.
According to the independent audit, the hotel will create 219 jobs and 100 new indirect jobs.
The Tucson city council will likely approve the project next week.
"This will be a good investment for our city to make," says Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild.
Since 2012, all downtown projects looking for tax abatements or breaks must first be subjected to GPLET, a process which insures the city doesn't violate the state's gift clause.
The value to the city must be greater than the benefits given to the developer.
In this case, it does by nearly three times.
"In the meeting on Tuesday, we will be looking at approval," Rothschild says. "I expect we will."