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Developer: conference center unlikely without city participation given current interest rates
Summary
Sherman, introduced as CEO of Wildcatters, told council that a conference center tied to the Greenbelt project is unlikely to be financed privately at today's interest rates and recommended public participation or a public-private partnership; he offered to bring consultants to outline how other towns structured deals.
Sherman, introduced in the presentation as the CEO of Wildcatters, told Greenville council that rising interest rates and lender risk make a standalone private conference center unlikely without community or city support. "Unless you get city participation, it's not gonna be built privately because no bank's gonna take the risk," Sherman said, describing previous pro-forma assumptions at 2.5–3% that were later invalidated when rates rose near 7–8 percent.
Sherman described financing options used elsewhere — including partial city guarantees, participation by local institutions (economic development entities, chambers, hospitals), or structuring mixed-use elements (office, fire station attachments) to create diversified revenue streams. He offered to bring consultants who have done public-private partnerships in small and mid-size Texas cities to present details to council. Council members pressed on whether public financing would be required given current rates; Sherman reiterated that private lenders generally require some form of public support or risk sharing for projects of the scale discussed.
