ALAN CHOATE - Daily Herald | Posted: Tuesday, October 17, 2006 11:00 pm
Utah County is being asked to join the Alpine School District and Pleasant Grove in an agreement to buy land for a proposed hotel and convention center complex.
The arrangement would funnel additional tax revenues from the development of the complex to cover the costs of purchasing 50 acres on the southeast corner of Pleasant Grove's Interstate 15 interchange.
County commissioners discussed the idea at Tuesday's meeting but took no action. A final version of the proposed interlocal agreement is still pending, Commissioner Steve White said.
"We'll just have to see," he said. "The most important part was they're not asking for any money generated outside their entity."
Hotel developer John Hammons has proposed building two high-end hotels, a 100,000-square-foot convention center and restaurant and retail space on the 50-acre parcel. The Pleasant Grove City Council recently approved a bond issue to buy the land and build internal roads and other improvements, all of which will be donated to the development.
Hammons is committing $85 million to the project, said Pleasant Grove Mayor Mike Daniels.
The bond would cost about $37 million over 25 years. Tax revenues from levies on property, rental cars and hotel rooms, for example, within the development would be used to repay the bond.
Additional convention space is also being considered in Provo and Lehi, but Daniels said the developer sees enough demand that the centers wouldn't be cutting each others' throats for business.
"He is absolutely convinced that along the Wasatch Front, Utah County has a dearth of convention facilities of this kind," Daniels told commissioners. "We do not see this as a competitive move. We see this as an additive move."
Separate plans for the Pleasant Grove interchange include a 350,000-square-foot business park and a 106-acre outdoor mall.
Hammons's hotel project is expected to break ground next spring, with openings expected in May of 2009.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D3.