Developers pitch 80‑room Dundee hotel and 20‑year TLT abatement to spur tourism

Terrain Development presented an updated design and financing plan for an 80‑room, full‑service hotel proposed for Dundee. Will von Schlegel, a co‑manager with the development team, said the project will include banquet and event spaces, a central courtyard described in the presentation as roughly 30,000 square feet of mixed‑use event area, 154 parking spaces and about 6,500 square feet of additional public‑facing, full‑service space. "We are about to begin the full fundraising commitment for the hotel before the end of the year," von Schlegel said.

Chris Kolagna, the development team’s economic lead, said the team has updated the construction budget to approximately $79 million. He told the council the project is projected to generate about $1,100,000 in annual TLT by year three of stabilized operations and estimated the hotel could attract roughly 35,000 visitors to Dundee annually. Kolagna presented those figures as program‑level projections and stressed they are estimates for planning and investment discussions.

Paul Schomer, part of the developer’s financing group, proposed a 20‑year TLT abatement program intended to reduce the need for large up‑front grants and make the project more attractive to long‑term investors. Schomer described an approach where the city’s share in the first five years would be roughly $2.4 million, with a total abatement on the order of $13.7 million over 20 years (presented NPV ~$6.4M). Schomer said the developers are willing to negotiate how existing urban‑renewal commitments would be reconciled with this TLT arrangement.

Council members pressed for more detail on job wages, caps and protections for the city. One councilor asked whether the TLT arrangement would replace a prior urban‑renewal commitment; Schomer said the team was open to negotiating a portion of prior urban‑renewal funds back into the package. The developers confirmed a proposed cap structure (presenters described minimum and maximum bands such as an early‑years minimum band near $500,000 and a later‑years cap near $800,000) and said any excess beyond caps would go to the city.

Developers asked for a timeline from the council: they said a decision by year‑end or within about 30 days would materially aid fundraising. The council agreed to review the handouts and financial details and asked the developers to provide additional information on average wages for the permanent positions they expect to create. No formal action or vote on the TLT proposal was taken at this meeting; council members suggested a work session for further discussion.

Next procedural step: council asked staff to schedule follow‑up briefings and requested a more detailed wage and operating‑income breakdown from the developers prior to considering any formal agreement.