Developers propose Broadway hotel; staff to analyze parking demand and options before sale decision

City staff briefed the commission on a proposed hotel development and an associated buy-sell addendum for the Broadway and Spruce parcel during the May 13 meeting.

Staff said the City has received a draft addendum from the development team offering $5,200,000 for the parcel and that the draft is under internal review by Community Vitality, the city manager’s office and the city attorney. "We have received a draft addendum from their team, for a buy sell agreement. It's currently an internal review," a staff presenter said.

A central technical issue is parking. Staff explained the parcel’s current land use would not require a private developer to build parking if the land were privately owned, and that the city’s ownership therefore provides leverage to negotiate the role of parking in any sale. The developers said they believe a hotel could operate on the site with zero onsite parking and are exploring options such as purchasing spaces at nearby garages.

Staff proposed engaging an on-call parking consultant to model near-term and long-term demand, and to test options: require the developer to provide underground parking on-site, partner for shared public-private parking, or rely on existing underutilized garages (for example, the nearby Trinity Garage). The proposed next step is the consultant analysis; the commission expressed support for further study.

Staff also provided an estimate of existing revenue from the lot (about $300,000 per year) and noted maintenance and capital costs associated with parking assets. Commissioners raised traffic and circulation concerns for Broadway, Spruce and Canyon streets if parking or access patterns change.

Ending: Staff will pursue a parking-demand analysis with a consultant and return with results to inform council and the commission; no sale decision was final at the meeting.