Photo provided An artist’s rendition of a proposed mixed use apartments development on land near Cummins parking garage in downtown Columbus.
The Columbus Redevelopment Commission has engaged a consultant for services on its hotel conference center project and a recent proposal from Flaherty & Collins Properties.
The commission approved a contract with Hunden Strategic Partners for a not-to-exceed amount of $20,000.
The approved resolution states that Hunden’s proposal includes “advisory consulting services and guidance on developer negotiations and projection implementation” for the hotel conference center and a mixed use development. According to Redevelopment Director Heather Pope, the latter refers to a development that Flaherty & Collins is proposing to build in front of the Cummins, Inc. parking garage.
“We can reach out to Rob, and (ask) ‘Is the information we’re hearing from developers accurate?’” said Pope, in discussing some of the services the firm will provide.
For instance, she said that Hunden will be able to verify if the funding gaps presented by developers are legitimate.
For Flaherty & Collins’ new mixed-use proposal, the company has estimated that the potential project would cost $15 million and require an approximately $5 million subsidy from the commission.
Deron Kintner, general counselor with the developer, described the concept as an apartment building with about 57 units and some first-floor commercial space. The commission has not yet made a decision on whether or not to provide funding. According to Pope, the project will be on the agenda at the commission’s June 26 meeting as an action item.
“Hunden will verify their numbers like they did for The Taylor,” she said.
She added that if and when the city enters negotiations with a developer on the hotel conference center project, they will likely need to increase the not-to-exceed amount on Hunden’s contract.
The city of Columbus announced on May 25 that it had parted ways with Sprague Hotel Developers, which had previously been selected as the developer for the project in 2019 and later put the development on hold in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The recent pandemic has contributed to a vastly different environment than the environment in which the hotel/conference center project proposals were received in 2019,” the commission’s resolution stated. “The city very much values Sprague Hotel Developers and all the positive impact and investment that it has brought to the Columbus community over the years. However, the parties were unable to come to mutually acceptable terms.”
Mayor Jim Lienhoop said in a previous interview that the city and Sprague “weren’t able to get together on the math” in terms of what the projected cost would be and how much the city would contribute.
“We mutually agreed that it was time to kind of part ways,” said Pope. “And with that being said, we still are very much interested in a downtown hotel conference center.”
The city has been in contact with other potential developers, Lienhoop said.
The redevelopment commission’s plans have been for the hotel conference center to be constructed at the block surrounded by Second, Franklin, Third and Lafayette streets in downtown Columbus, which it acquired through a property-swap agreement with the county. The city recently demolished the former Bartholomew County court services building on the block to make way for the development.
Hunden Strategic Partners has been engaged by the commission for various tasks throughout the hotel conference center project. The firm’s work has included conducting a market and feasibility study in 2018, helping the city find a developer in 2019 and updating the 2018 study in 2022.
The firm presented findings from the updated study about a year ago, recommending that the city should move forward with the development and also consider expanding its scope.
