Council to meet in private with 2 hoteliers, local developer

About 3 conference center plans being pitched

Friday, March 1, 2013

Three development groups are poised to move on to the second phase of review in the Jefferson City Council’s dogged pursuit of a new conference center for the Capital City.

Ehrhardt Hospitality Group, based in Hannibal, pitched a plan to build its facility on the state-owned property adjacent to Broadway and West McCarty Street.

Drury Development Company, based in St. Louis, also sent a proposal for that site, as well as the Missouri State Penitentiary site or any other locale that meets the city’s requirements.

Farmer Holding Company, the only local developer, proposed building its conference center at the Capital Mall, which the developer purchased in December.

The Jefferson City Council met in executive session Monday to examine the three proposals and decide their fates.

Although the Ehrhardt and Drury proposals were moved forward to Phase 2 with unanimous votes, the Farmer Holding Company’s proposal did not receive unanimous support.

Three council members — Carrie Carroll, Ralph Bray and Larry Henry — voted against the Farmer Holding Company’s plan.

In interviews, Bray and Carroll said they believe it is necessary to build any new conference center in closer proximity to the Missouri State Capitol and other downtown amenities.

Spike Ehrhardt, co-owner of Ehrhardt Hospitality Group, said the process is in the preliminary stages. He said his group prefers the West McCarty Street site because of its proximity to the state Legislature and the access to Highway 50. His team plans to work with the Marriott hotel chain.

“We think it will serve the community well,” he said. “We’re in the running, but we may not be chosen.”

Representatives from Drury and Farmer Holding Company did not return calls on Thursday.

The developers each will be invited to present their proposals to the City Council in the coming weeks. The meetings will be held in closed sessions since the proposals are still under negotiation.

In February 2011, Jefferson City voters approved a 7 percent lodging tax on hotel and motel guests. The proceeds were intended to be “expended for the promotion of tourism,” according to ballot language. The tax expires in 2035, but it is expected to generate a $9 million revenue stream officials hope to use for a conference center.

The council sent out the request for conference center proposals last December; the deadline to submit ideas was Jan. 31. As envisioned by city officials, the city would enter into a partnership with a hotelier, or developer, to construct an exhibition or banquet hall.

The city’s query specified a minimum of 200 hotels rooms and 30,000 square feet of ballroom/exhibit space, plus 10,000 square feet of space for back-of-the-house operations. The city also asked interested hoteliers to indicate how much additional meeting space they would provide, asking for a minimum of 10,000 square feet.

Bray, who represents the Fifth Ward, said the request for proposals lacked specificity, but that was by design. “In order not to rule any concept out, it was kept open so everyone felt welcome to participate,” he said.

As one of the three who voted against the Farmer Holding Company’s proposal, Bray said his decision was not related to any opposition to that company, but stemmed from his conviction the conference center must be near the Capitol.

“What F and F Development Co. have done at the Capital Mall is great for the community. It’s another shot in the arm, and it’s going to become a great destination,” he said. “But for Jefferson City’s financial involvement, it’s a better investment for our conference center to be in close proximity to the downtown.”

(Founded by Mike and Bud Farmer, F and F Development Co. owns Capital Mall JC LLC.)

Bray added dozens of state associations — that established their headquarters in Jefferson City to be near the lawmakers — are expected to be some of the prime users of any new conference center. “It’s no accident they are located in Jefferson City’s downtown,” he said.

Carroll, who represents the Fourth Ward, was pleased to see the three developers announced publicly. “We want to respect the developers, and make sure the information about their proposals is shared at the right moment, but it’s time for the public to know we received a viable response,” she said.

She expected that city staff will share their ideas on how the council should proceed soon.

Third Ward Councilman Bob Scrivner said he hopes to maintain a “neutral stance” on all three proposals until a decision is imminent.

Both Scrivner and Carroll said they are interested in gathering some public input prior to narrowing the field from three candidates to one. “My preference is to have that conversation in public,” Scrivner said.

How the process unfolds depends, in part, on the quality of the developers’ ideas, he said. “Maybe all three will be strong. Maybe one will clearly prevail and it will be very clear cut,” he said. “The next step, I think, is to see a concept drawing.”

Mayor Eric Struemph said: “I’m pleased with the proposals we’ve received and looking forward to moving on to the next step of hearing directly from each developer about their proposals for a conference center in Jefferson City.”

More like this story

RobHunterJohnson 2 months, 3 weeks ago

Capital mall would be a good location, highway access, and would not displace any flood water? The Boat would solve all of this! rob

rodinman 2 months, 3 weeks ago

Capital Mall is a great location. If it were to be built there the possibility exists for better stores to open within the mall. However, many of the attendees (if any ever came) would stay at the two hotels in Apache Flats. The mayor, the council, and the people behind the scenes pulling all the strings don't want that.

Gotigers 2 months, 3 weeks ago

the only way we are goint to attract a convention over Columbia or the Lake is if the convention has a need to interact with state government. So I think the site would have to be close to the Capitol, Truman Building, Supreme Court, MoDOT, etc...

It would be like builidng a convention center at the Lake that doesn't have any access to the Lake without a 3 mile drive.

JCLifer 2 months, 3 weeks ago

People who work in state government do not want to attend or host a convention in Jefferson City. They want to get away from the office, phone calls, and meetings to get the most out of the convention. Hosting a convention in your home town is horrible too. It is so much easier to stay at the convention hotel and handle items that come up immediately rather than going home after the convention and trying to handle things from home.

There is no good reason to waste our tax dollars on a convention center. Current local motel occupancy rates are way low, and existing motels are struggling to keep the doors open. Since the economy is in such poor shape, the competition for conventions is fierce. Springfield, The Lake, Columbia, and Branson will cut to the bone to keep their conventions and not let Jefferson City have any business.

Local taxpayers are going to have to pay every year to subsidize this albatross that will not benefit them in any way. This convention center is a big LO$ER and would not be concidered by investors at all if the city taxpayers were not putting up much of the cash to build it.

Why does the Chamber and the Council keep wanting us to spend our mopney on things that will not benefit most of us? We should be spending the tax dollars on things to help the residents of this city, not helping state government or helping lobbiests to hold conventions.

RobHunterJohnson 2 months, 3 weeks ago

How long has the state health lab been gone? If Q Hammons wanted to do something he should have a long time ago, the State must satisfy Q Hammons needs for the JC area. JC should go out past the mall, annex a little bit of property west, and a win for the mall/JCMO. Columbia Mall has a hotel adjacent, and is there not a piece of property behind the new Walgreens , and along 50 west service road waiting to be developed! Rob

JCLifer 2 months, 3 weeks ago

When is the city every going to make the state clean up that lot? The state tore down the Health Lab and never did clean up the lot. It is an eyesore in full view of the capitol. They should have cleaned it up, landscaped it, planted grass, or better yet: paved it and built a parking lot or even a parking garage.

And what is the deal with the abandoned slum house on the corner of Broadway and West McCarty? Tear that thing down, or else fix it up to meet current building codes. That thing is more blight on a blighted block right by the capitol and Uptown area.

JCLifer 2 months, 3 weeks ago

The old rock quarry on Hwy 54 and 179 would be the best location for a convention center. Much closer to the hotels and plenty of room for parking and expansion. Easy to get to location from all over town.

Think ahead for once, city leaders! Plan for the future.

PatsyDecline 2 months, 3 weeks ago

$9MM in lodging tax revenue stream.....LOLOL!

Are these not the same geniuses who just announced a $2MM city budget shortfall??

RobHunterJohnson 2 months, 3 weeks ago

Sure would! Farmers sand plant would make a great site for a Boat; as well! Rob

LaTda 2 months, 3 weeks ago

I vote for the Farmer Bros. I too think the boat is an excellant idea. But what do I know? I'm just someone who takes my money to other cities to find entertainment. Back to the convention center...it only appeals to me if F and F developement company is awarded and placed near the mall. Otherwise, I think the convention center is a stupid idea. I know they will do a great job in design, construction and fight to do good for our community. Wasn't there an advertisment a few years back going around...."buy local"....pretty sad when the town that was promoting it doesn't follow through with it. I think if JC feels they need to spend unnecessary money, a center that is large enough to hold big name concerts, boat/trade shows, etc. would be nice.

JCB 2 months, 3 weeks ago

It has to be downtown. A hotel in view of the JFCY mall? Who would want to stay at a hotel with that view. DOWNTOWN people. Near everyone who will be using it.

RobHunterJohnson 2 months, 3 weeks ago

You will need enough parking, and the parking again will be the issue at the Broadway/50 site! I guess we will need a parking garage for the Truman Bldg as well. Rob

JCLifer 2 months, 3 weeks ago

There is nothing to do uptown except get drunk with all the other rednecks. Parking is horrible.

Uptown is a very bad idea. Flood plane is a very bad idea.

JCLifer 2 months, 3 weeks ago

Too bad we don't have a casino boat in this town. That would be something to draw convention people. It would also rake in the tax revenue for the city, as well as provide nearly 1000 good-paying jobs for local residents. Younger people might even think about luving her instead of Columbua.

RobHunterJohnson 2 months, 3 weeks ago

I guess we could dig a moat for the boat, to be docked at MCcarty, and Broadway! What is there to do with in a rocks throw of this location JCB? When they dug the parking garage at capital plaza it filled with water, and a large tree on mulberry fell in as well! Not to mention the Capital Plaza's lobby under water, and the parking garage pump failures at that location in 1993? JC is right what is there to in down town Jeff City! Rob

JCLifer 2 months, 3 weeks ago

This convention center is such a waste of money. It will be way too small to host any decent size conferences. All it will do is put another local business under. No net gain. No good paying jobs. No benefit to taxpayers.

A nice multipurpose community center would be a much better idea. Host some bigger concerts. Have hot rod car auctions. Car shows indoors. Home and garden shows. Gun shows. Rodeos indoors. Classrooms. Meeting rooms. Work out rooms. Theatre. Day care center. Town hall meetings. Gospel music shows. Blue grass shows. Classic rock concerts. Community dinners. Dances.

This town needs to be bold and think big and out of the box.

JCB 2 months, 3 weeks ago

Kidding me!!! What's there to do in a rock quarry??? Do you think people will want to go to the mall after a meeting. Haha. This is being built for business and city revenue. Not so two jokers can go to the arcade after a business meeting. There is more to JFCY than a rock quarry, mall, and complaining multiple times a day on this website. Get out and find out. Turn the computer off. And not all of downtown flooded in 93. So quit acting like water will cover all of JFCY besides and rock quarry and the mall.

rj27 2 months, 3 weeks ago

The city of West Plains built their convention center on the other side of town from all the motels and resturants etc.Not so smart? Really? THEY HAVE MADE A PROFIT EVERY YEAR!!!Seems that driving across town exposses the visitors to all the businesses in between.Not to mention creating jobs for taxie drivers and the local transit system.It only makes sense to build it where it can be expanded later and parking is convenient.If downtown has something to offer they will get in the cars that they came in and drive to it. Building at the quarry or the mall makes more sense that anything since the casino people offered to build us one free of charge and will probably meet with the same fate.*If it doesn't benefit the right people in this town,it doesn't matter how good an idea it is.

sancho 2 months, 3 weeks ago

I disagree with JCLifer (imagine that!) about our downtown. I enjoy going to Jefferson City's downtown to eat, go to Yo-Yums, shop, have coffee or a drink, meet people, walk. It has a lot to offer. When our family from out of state visit they always comment on how appealing our downtown is.

I think all three sites are good options: the mall, the W. McCarty site and MSP. But I prefer the W. McCarty site. It offers convenience for meetings and conferences that have a connection to state government. I constantly drive down McCarty and see people crossing from the Truman Building to the Capitol Plaza. They have all the markings of people here on training. They stay at Capitol Plaza, and attend training sessions in the Truman Building.

Building the conference center on W. McCarty would attract the statewide meetings for many associations. They can attend their meetings and be within walking distance of their hotel and the capitol and Truman building where they can be involved in other meetings and opportunities to network. Groups that don't have a connection to state government will still find the location appealing - near the heart of the city, easy to get to and find, near restaurants, entertainment, etc.

rj27, maybe West Plains has made their convention center successful, but I would prefer to offer our customers who use our center the convenience of driving to the place, parking their car, and not getting back in their car until they leave town. They are close enough to a variety of restaurants and bars to unwind that they can walk and don't need to drive.

I do appreciate the Farmers buying the mall, and throwing their hat in the ring on this. It's great to see a family from here that is willing to invest in Jefferson City this way. There is so much negativity about Jefferson City, especially on this forum. Seeing a local family doing something positive and believing in Jefferson City this way makes me hopeful.

RobHunterJohnson 2 months, 3 weeks ago

We can talk about all the wonderful things at the MCcarty site, highway access, 1 hotel, the hub of State Goverment, and beautiful downtown JC! The other side of the coin the water came out of the gutter at 27' at 5 points, Floods all the way back to Jefferson Street, and 50 Highway. I am sure the NT has plenty of flood photos over the ages? If you drop a block of concrete in a tub of water, the water must go somewhere, and if the Mccarty site has water that high it is not going back in the river anytime soon! We could talk about the 9, or 10 inch rain prior to the 93 flood which destroyed a bunch of cop cars at Capital plaza, because the flood door failed to close properly? Our River was not floodibng at that time! During the flood of 93 the only east west access, through central JC was on High St, heavily sand bagged at the bottom of the viadock on High St. We need to use some common sense here, must we look like 1993 Chesterfield Bottoms some time in the future? 51, 73, 78, 86, 93, __? If developer like Q Hammons group has not tried to do anything in all the years they have been here and they are located at the center of this location? Finally I was in a John Boat at 50, and Missouri Blvd with a KC Star Reporter at the height of the 93 flood, and we could not find a parking space anywhere! Rob

JCLifer 2 months, 3 weeks ago

Those people you see walking from Capitol Plaza to the Truman Building are just PARKING at the Capitol Plaza for a meeting at the Truman Building. There isn't nearly enough visitor parking at the Truman Building, and since they got rid of the shuttle bus, folks just park at Capitol Plaza. Park in the garage and walk through the lobby and over to Truman. Nearly all are locals.

sancho 2 months, 3 weeks ago

Thanks JCLifer! I had no idea I could park at Capitol Plaza and go to the Truman Building. I guess I could actually go anywhere while my car sits in the Capitol Plaza parking lot free of charge. That's really nice of Capitol Plaza to provide free parking for all of us. The News Tribune should do a story on that. I'm sure there's others in Jefferson City who are not aware that they can park at Capitol Plaza and then go to the Truman Building (or pretend that's where they are going, and instead they can to anywhere downtown).

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