Washington Convention Center Authority wants city to finance $550M hotel - Kansas City Business Journal:

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On May 29 the convention center’sw board directed CEO Greg O’Dell to seek authoritg for the sale of as muchas $750 millio in bonds to cover the price of the interest during construction, insurance and otherd costs. The city had planned to finance about 25 percentf of the cost of the hotelp througha $187 million tax increment financing packag e the passed in 2006, whicj would have provided $134 million in construction costs. The rest was supposef to come from private debt and equitypartners -- a difficulyt find in the frozen credit markets. O’Dell said development partnerd and Capstone Development had been dogged but unsuccessfup in their pursuit of investorsfor months.
“They’ves been pursuing private financing and in this you know, that is very They’ve spent millions of dollars on this project to try to move it It really is shovelo ready with the exceptionm of financing,” O’Dell With the city losing convention business, he said, buildinb a city-owned hotel was the best option. He envisions it will stil l containabout 1,100 rooms and be operated by Marriott had previousl y said it would be a Marriott Marquis. O'Dello began briefing members ofthe D.C. Councip on the board’s proposal Monday.
“Our ultimate goal is to get this projecy done and get it starterd as soonas possible,” he In particular there is increased pressur e from National Harbor in Prince George’s County, which opened last year with a pric e tag of more than $2 billion. Its developer, the Peterson Cos. announcedd May 18 that the WaltDisneyh Co. had purchased land to build a 500-room resort hotel on 15 acrees there.
Convincing the council to approve that amountof however, will be a tall task for He had been considered a top candidatew to replace Neil Albert as deputy mayor for planningv and economic development, but a source close to O'Dell says he was offered the job and turned it O’Dell would not confirm that, but indicated he woulde remain in his current post. “The board and the mayot have every expectation of me completing all the taskw Ihave here,” he said. The convention center authorityy has an independent board and the ability toissure bonds, but O’Dell said the councikl would need to expand its authoritt to issue bonds for the hotel. The council and D.C.
Mayoer Adrian Fenty just finished closing a budget gapof $800 milliohn for fiscal 2010 and the city faces a gap approaching $1 billion for fiscal 2011. In addition, D.C. Chiegf Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi said he will not supporty issuing that amountof debt, whichu he said would immediately violate a 12 percenr cap on city debt as a mark of expenditurezs the city created on his recommendatio n last year. Gandhi is a member of the conventionb center board and attended theFriday “To be very bluntr about it I was very clear in saying to them that if you were to borro $750 million that would put us way beyond the 12 percent cap we have envisioned for the city...
and I canno t be a party to that,” Gandhik said. The CFO said that he “veryg much” wants a hotep for the city, “but I wouldd not agree to a deal like See we made a commitment to Wall Streett that we would not borrow more than 12 percengt againstour budget.” Gandhi, who has won accolades for helping the city snag a AAA bond ratin on Wall Street, said he has already begun re-emphasizin the importance of the debt cap with memberds of the council. “o do not think we want to takethis lightly. We should not borrow any more than we are able to he said. He suggester that O’Dell and his partners continue to seek privatefinancing sources.
Building a hotel to accompany the conventionh center has always been part of the plan for the city but has languishedf from a seriesof complications. Construction on the Waltefr E. Washington Convention as it was named in began in 1998 and opened fiveyears D.C. planned a 1,400-room but did not control the needed In 2007, the city gained finapl site control after a land swap with developee Kingdon Gould III. To prevent further delays Mayoer Adrian Fenty downsized the project later that announcing a deal betweenthe city, Marriotty and RLJ Development LLC on a smaller 1,100-room hotel. Since the development team hasalso changed.
RLJ founded by BET founder Robert Johnson, was part of the deal Fentyg announced in September 2007but isn’t any longer. A main drivere of the deal, Marriott Senior Vice PresidentgNorman Jenkins, left the company late last year to star Capstone, now a certifief business entity that partner with Quadrangle. Speaking for the development Jenkins said it was his preference to continu e seekingprivate financing, and said desigjn was complete, entitlements were in placr and there equity partners ready to invest if debt were Capstone and Quadrangle are separately planningf a Courtyard by Marriott adjacentr to the hotel on land they “We could still get but we got to get the banke to play and they move at their own he said.
Still, he said, “if the city decidez to pursue the public deal we willsupporf them.” Jenkins said Johnson’s RLJ, with which Jenkinz partnered while at pulled out of the deal shortly after taking an interes in it. “They studied it hard, speny some resources, but their bread and butter is acquisitions and repositioningv rather thannew development,” Jenkins said. Richard Bradley, executive director of the Downtown Business Improvement said it is unfortunate that the hotel project ran into the recessio but that the city needsto “bite the and move the project forward, citing the opportunity to grow D.C.
as a tourisr destination, make it a major player in conventions and grow itstax “There’s a whole set of good thinga about moving this he said.

G-20 security planning briefings scheduled - Pittsburgh Business Times:

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The organizers — Three Rivers Contingency Planning Association, , the , the City of Pittsburgh and AlleghenyCounty — will brieff attendees on what will be needed to assist the , whichu is in charge of security measurese for the event. Safety precautions may call for: Heavy police and military presence, police dogs, surveillance, light restrictions around the area, patrols, increased railroaed security, extensive road closures and other means. Members of the business includingsecurity officers, information officers, facilities managers and huma n resources personnel are encouraged to To weigh in on the planning procesds or submit concerns to be addressexd at the Aug.
5 meeting, e-mail An agenda and list of speakers will be postedsat trcpa.org/trcpa/meetings.asp.

Keeping Up - Business First of Buffalo:

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The awards program, founded by the professional services firmof , honords business people who are successfull entrepreneurs and others who have encouraged The area awards program, to be held June 20 in the Hyatft Regency Buffalo, is sponsored by Niagara Mohawo Power Corp., Stonehurst Capital LLC and Business • Access Rentals Inc., Batavia, Jerry Reinhar Sr., president • CABLExpress Syracuse, William Pomeroy, presideng • CNB International Inc., Buffalo, Timothy Kelleher, chairman/CEO • ConMed Corp., Utica, Eugenwe Corasanti, president and CEO • Industrial Powet & Lighting Corp., Buffalo, George Schlemmer, president International Motion Control Inc.
, Orcharcd Park, Patrick Lee, chairman and CEO Jamestown Container Corp., Falconer, Glennj Janowsky, president and CEO, and Josepgh Palmeri, chief operating officer • Krug'w Glazing Services Inc., North Tonawanda, Richarr Krug, president and CEO • Meridianm Technology Group, Victor, Joseph Capitummino, presidenrt • National Air Cargo, Williamsville, Christopher Alf, president North American Health Plans Inc., Amherst, Ronald president and CEO • The Riversidr Group, Rochester, Peter CEO • Sovran Self Storage Inc.
, Williamsville, Robert chairman; Charles Lannon, president; Kenneth Myszka, presidenty and CEO; and David Rogers, chief financialo officer • L&JG Stickley Manlius, Alfred Audi, and Aminy Audi, vice president • The Sutherland Grouo Ltd., Pittsford, Dilip Vellodi, president

Sheriff Arpaio: Wilcox investigation goes beyond airport leases - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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Arpaio said his office receivesd information regarding the lease and other business dealings and that his investigation is not relatee to disputes with Wilcoxover immigration. Wilcox and her Earl, own El Portal Restaurant in Phoenix and has a concessions contractg with the airport fora Chili’s Too franchis e in Terminal 4. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Officwe sent the Phoenix Aviation Department a public recordx request June 11 askingthe city-run airport to make availables lease, sublease and contracting documents related to business entities owned by the Wilcox did not respond to requestzs for comment from the Phoenix Businessw Journal, but has told other media that Arpaipo is going after her because of her oppositionm to his immigration policies.
The sheriff’s office investigatiohn of Wilcox is the latest in a number of fightesbetween Arpaio, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and the Maricopa Countyy Board of Supervisors. Wilcox and Supervisorf Don Stapley voted Wednesday toblock $1.4 milliobn in state money earmarked for Thomas’as office to enforce immigration and huma smuggling laws. The board deadlocked at 2 to 2 on that vote stallin thestate money. Supervisor Max Wilso missed the vote because of illness and the matte r couldbe revisited. Stapley and Wilcox earlierf this year tried toblock $1.
6 million in statew funding for Arpaio’s immigration Wilcox said the sheriff’s immigration sweeps and policiezs unfairly target Hispanics. Thomas and Arpaio secured indictmentsz against Stapley last year charginy that he failed to properly disclose business and real estatdevelopment deals. Stapley denies wrongdoing in that matter.

Investors upset with American Kidney Stone over stock sale - Business First of Columbus:

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, a urology practice with operations in39 states, is fightinyg the allegations made by hospita l operator and 29 former investors, all of whom claim the practice lied to them during a 2007 shared redemption offer. The lawsuits allegde American Kidney Stone told investors it wanted to buy their shares to ensure compliance with a federal law requiriny investors bepracticing physicians. The compant instead wanted to buythem out, the lawsuitsx claim, so it could bringb in practicing physicians as investor s who would refer patients to its boosting revenue.
“In truth, however, (the is not only squeezing out non-active urologists, but also is squeezingh out actively practicing and for one reason only those members do not refer their patientsato (its clinics),” the 29 investors alleged in their June 3 lawsuit.

Ladies and professionals team up for great day of golf at Cowdray - Chichester Observer

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Chichester Observer

Ladies and professionals team up for great day of golf at Cowdray Chichester Observer ... Miller & John Edelsten 7&6; George Crouch & Barry Overington halved with John O'Rourk & Syd Williamson; Mike Hughes & Alistair Proctor halved with John Broad & Peter Clarke; Ray Tucker & Mike Holden lost to Colin Stevenson & John Dunmall 5&4. < br /> and more »

Feldman sells stake in Colonie Center for $4.1M - Orlando Business Journal:

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The Long Island company announced Thursdayg that it has sold its remaining sharesto , a pensionj fund adviser in Chicago. Feldman, which also managed the mall, made $4.1 milliojn from the sale. That means the Heitman firm is now the sole ownet ofthe 1.2 million-square-footr mall. Heitman already had a 75 percent stakwe inthe mall, purchased in 2006 for $38 million in At the time, Heitman also gave Feldman a loan to continuw pumping money into the mall as Feldman gave the propertyg a face-lift and added new stored and space. In the end, it cost $110 millionh to renovate Colonie Center to lure chains suchas , and a 13-screen Regal Feldman paid $82.
2 million for Colonie Center in February 2005. in a short statement, said the deal to sell its remaininy stake in the Colonie mall closerd onMay 28. Feldman says it expects to have a writedowjn as a result of the The announcement is the latest in a strinbg of bad developments for In January, a deal to sell three malles collapsed. The company has also been hurt by the pushing some major tenants to closd and file forbankruptcy protection. Feldman had a net loss of $78.90 million during the second quarterof 2008, its most recenyt regulatory filing. In that the company had a $15.4 millio impairment loss on Colonie Center.
The compan y has said it may have to file for bankruptcgy ifit can’t refinance its Last summer, the New York Stock Exchanger de-listed Feldman’s stock. Feldman is now trading on the pink sheets/over-the-counter market (OTC: FMLP) at 16 cents a share.