Mitchell Kaminski
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Jefferson City Council took several steps toward completing a new downtown conference center, which is projected to generate $584 million in economic impact over its first decade, support 372 jobs and bring in $14 million in local tax revenue.
A design report outlined the 189,420-square-foot facility, which would be built between Madison and Monroe streets, with the main entrance on East Capitol Avenue.
The project includes a 200-room hotel, bar, conference room, grand ballroom, restaurant, coffee shop and 526 parking spaces. City officials said the design aims to attract more visitors downtown and boost local business activity.
On Monday, the council approved a master development agreement with Garfield Public/Private LLC for the hotel and conference center. The agreement outlines the roles and responsibilities for developing, constructing, furnishing and opening the project.
Under the agreement, Jefferson City will cover up to $8.3 million in development and design fees from the Conference Center Fund before issuing bonds for construction. About $1.58 million of that amount has already been authorized for schematic design work.
However, it was not passed unanimously, with Ward 5 Councilwoman Mackenzie Job and Ward 2 Councilman Aaron Mealy voicing concerns about the debt the project will cause the taxpayers.
“It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge a substantial opportunity cost that comes with accruing such a sizeable debt,” Job said during the meeting. As I see it, we are having the taxpayer going into it from our own citizenry or from those visiting our community, hoping that this will pay off.
Mealy, whose ward the project would be built in, also expressed skepticism in the project’s projected economic impact.
“One of the problems I had substantially was related to the economic impact of $580 billion, I assume over the life of the bonds, $580 million of economic impact for the life of the bonds equates to little over $50,000 a day. I know these amounts are often inflated in almost every project throughout the country but I find pause in them,” Mealy said. “Costs don’t stop after construction. Even if we are able to keep the project on budget, the challenge starts when we open the doors.”
Ward 1 Councilman Randy Hoselton pushed back, saying the conference center is meant to be a secondary benefit and is an investment in the city.
The meeting grew tense when Ward 1 Councilman Jeff Ahlers accused Mealy of implying in a — since-deleted — Facebook post that the city lacked transparency during the planning process, saying that anyone who believed that was “dumber than a box of hammers.”
The city also passed a resolution to bring in McCownGordon on as the firm building the hotel and conference center andcreated the nonprofit “Capital City Corporation for Growth,” which will ultimately own the hotel and conference center. Officials said that the nonprofit organization will help the city move at the speed of business, not the speed of government.
The Capital City Corporation for Growth resolution passed 7-3 with Job, Mealy and Ward 3 Councilman Derek Thomas voting against it.
As part of the construction of the center, the capital city will also lose out on 400 parking spaces due to the demolition of the Madison Street parking garage.
The council also authorized the closure of portions of the Madison Street parking garage on Monday, which officials say has reached the end of its useful life.
The garage, originally built in 1961 and expanded in 1982, was last inspected in 2023. That inspection found the structure could no longer be safely used without major reconstruction, which was estimated to cost more than $12.5 million.
City staff said the structure has continued to deteriorate since then. In recent weeks, a rusted beam connection failed, and a non-load-bearing piece of angle iron, part of a previous renovation, fell from the building. A council memo also revealed that minor pieces of concrete have come loose in the past.
Ward 4 Councilwoman Julie Allen told ABC 17 News the city is working to determine how to handle parking concerns once the garage closes, but no plan has been released yet.
If an upcoming emergency structural report finds part of the garage to be safe, the east section’s basement and drive-in area off Commercial Way may remain open temporarily for permit holders.
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