Another public-private partnership fiasco.
From yesterday’s Wall Street Journal (subscription only…sorry):
Failed Hotel Symbolizes Trenton’s Woes
The Lafayette Yard Hotel and Conference Center Will Be Sold at Auction
TRENTON—When it opened 11 years ago, the Lafayette Marriott Conference Hotel erased this city’s status as the nation’s only state capital without a reputable lodging house.
There was hope that a hotel—located downtown just blocks from the Statehouse—would create a social and business hub that would generate economic activity and nightlife in a city beset by crime and job losses.
Instead, the city-owned hotel struggled financially, as convention and tourism business didn’t materialize. Marriott yanked its brand from the business in June. And the public-benefit corporation launched to run the hotel filed for bankruptcy protection in September……….
……………Now the city, which issued $60 million in bonds to build the hotel, is on the hook for $30 million in hotel-related debt, including $13.3 million owed in city bonds and about $9 million in loans from the state…………
………….Some residents argue that the city didn’t do enough to support its investment in the hotel by promoting local tourism and the area’s Revolutionary War sites. Others blame the state for not promoting the hotel as a place for conventions and association conferences. Still others think it could be successful with the right management………
Yeah, and communism would work too if we could only find the “right management”.
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