The council approved a redevelopment plan that would allow B&J Partnership to develop a 105-room hotel, 60 residential units and retail on the block bordered by Eighth, Ninth, Q and R streets.
The developer proposes renovating two buildings and constructing a new one with a brick facade, investing a total of $18 million. The next step is for the city and developer to come up with a redevelopment agreement spelling out terms and conditions; it also must be approved by the council.
Camp asked how certain he was that the project would happen.
"I can't give you a 100 percent guarantee that any project is going to get built in the financing environment we have today," Hunzeker said. But he said requiring such a guarantee would send developers running elsewhere.
"We have not yet been told 'we're not interested' by any financial institution," he said. "But do we have a legally binding commitment to finance this? No."
Camp said while he thinks the proposal is "an absolutely great project," he doesn't think the city has properly analyzed its costs and benefits.
Although Camp asked the majority of questions during the public hearing on the project, in the end he did not vote on it, saying "Some might say I have a financial interest in this." And with that, the redevelopment plan passed 6-0.
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