Jackson Jambalaya

Looks like the Clarion-Ledger editorial page did an about-face on the proposed convention center hotel yesterday:

"There is no question that Jackson needs a hotel to accompany the new Jackson Convention Complex. However, there are a lot of questions about the recent actions by officials as they rush to get a deal for a hotel project.

Taxpayers need answers...

The fact that it has foundered is another legacy of the failed administration of the late Mayor Frank Melton. Melton botched it with actions that harmed the effort and left a terrible mess to be cleaned up by Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.

But in a rush to clean up that mess, the city of Jackson and the Jackson Redevelopment Authority should not rush into anything that might make the problem worse..." Editorial

A little bit different than what it wrote back in September:

"Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. and the City Council did the right thing picking up the ball and moving forward with a proposed hotel for the Jackson Convention Complex. The council voted Monday to buy about 3.1 acres along Pascagoula Street for $14.3 million. The city will then lease the land to the developers....

As The Clarion-Ledger reported, Transcontinental Realty Investors Inc. says construction could begin by the end of the year and would take 18 months.

The 16-story, full-service hotel will feature 309 rooms, a restaurant, lounge, bar and 12,700 square feet of meeting space, including an 8,000-square-foot ballroom.

There will be 175 on-site, surface-level parking spaces, with room on the adjoining parcels to bring that total to more than 300....

It's about time that there was some movement on this project. While the $14.3 million is a big pill for the city to swallow, it's nearly the amount the city has lost by the land being idle.

The Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau has estimated the convention center has lost at least $13 million in business since opening because it did not have a complementary hotel.

And the city had only a narrow window of opportunity for financing at advantageous rates.

The city is using Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds allowed for building projects in the wake of Hurricane Katrina with a Dec. 31 deadline.

While it's not a great idea for governments to be putting funds in risky ventures, it's certainly not unusual for governments to enter in to public/private partnerships. It makes projects like this possible.

The Jackson Redevelopment Authority is a case in point, where a quasi-governmental agency spurs development through city, state and federal cooperative agreements." Earlier post with editorial

Too funny.