Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Harborfront Hotel topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves project-area plan for Superior harborfront Hampton Inn project
Summary
The Common Council voted to approve a project-area plan that clears a key first step for a proposed ZMC Hotels Hampton Inn and Suites on Superior's harborfront; the plan will return with a proposed TIF district and a development agreement at subsequent meetings.
The City of Superior Common Council on Aug. 19 approved a project-area plan for a proposed Hampton Inn and Suites hotel on the city's harborfront, advancing the zoning and planning steps the developer says it needs before a development agreement and tax-increment financing (TIF) proposal return to the council.
The vote enacted a resolution approving the project-area boundary and plan for what city staff called the Harbor Waterfront Hotel Project. Mayor Bruce Hagen initiated the item and Councilor Dennis Dalbec moved the resolution; it was seconded by Councilor Esther Dalbec and the council passed it by voice vote. "All in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carried," the mayor said after the vote.
The approval clears a planning milestone, city planning staff said, and sets the stage for review of a TIF plan at the council's next meeting and a development agreement with ZMC Hotels in the second meeting in September. Planning Director Jason Sirche told the council the redevelopment authority and the plan commission had already reviewed the project plan and that the redevelopment authority made a boundary change after residents requested removal of some residential parcels from the project area.
Ken Goldfein, chief executive officer of ZMC Hotels, gave the council a presentation describing the project as a Hampton Inn and Suites that the company expects will draw more visitors to the Bong Center and to nearby businesses such as Perkins. "We think this hotel will spur additional development along the Highway 53 Corridor," Goldfein told the council, and said ZMC had secured bank financing and the Hampton Inn franchise.
Goldfein outlined an optimistic construction schedule, saying the company could begin piling on the sloped site "this fall" and that the earliest realistic public opening would be the following summer, although he said it was possible construction could be timed to open for a regional race if weather cooperated. "Optimistically, we could have it open for Grandma's Marathon, but I wouldn't stake my reputation on it," he said.
Jason Sirche and other staff described components that remain to be resolved: a TIF plan that will include certain residential parcels because of statutory requirements, a development agreement that will be returned to council in September, parking strategies for both the hotel and the Bong Center, and some site-specific adjustments such as moving a playground and redesign work around the Perkins restaurant.
Residents and business leaders spoke during public comment. Kent Oliver, who read a communication signed by 13 residents, said he opposed the proposed hotel; Susan Chandler, who said she lives at 202 E. Second St., told the council she was "sad" that a new hotel would obstruct views of the bay she has enjoyed for decades and said she had been told there would be no sale of public property to a private entity. Several speakers urged approval: Charles Glazeman, a Douglas County supervisor and member of the Superior Public Museums Board, said the city loses visitors to Canal Park and that a new hotel would increase rooms-tax revenue for museums and other organizations. Dave Miner, president and CEO of the Chamber for Superior and Douglas County, and Rick Kanata, mayor of Hibbing, Minn., both urged the council to support the project, citing ZMC's track record and local needs for a mid-market hotel.
Councilors and staff discussed parking at length. Jason Sirche said the design work under way would yield about 116 parking spaces on the site plan the city and developer were pursuing, up from about 78 existing spaces in the immediate configuration; he warned that occasional events such as Dragon Boat Festival and World War II commemorations would still create peak demand.
The redevelopment authority had previously held a public hearing on July 30 and made the boundary change after residents asked to be excluded from the project area, Sirche said. The council had earlier approved a blight finding for the broader area in June; Sirche said the blight finding relied on "vacant land" and "abnormal platting" among other statutory criteria required for the kind of tax-increment district the city is considering.
With the project-area plan approved, the council will next consider a TIF plan at its next meeting and a development agreement with ZMC at the second September meeting, city staff said. The project team continues to develop parking solutions and finalize site engineering, including foundation strategies for the sloping harbor site.
Speakers at the hearing represented a mix of residents and business interests; the council recorded no formal conditions attached to the project-area plan beyond those embedded in the project plan and the process for TIF and development agreement review.
The council returned to its regular agenda after the vote; the TIF plan and the development agreement are expected to appear at upcoming meetings for further council action.
