By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
Although a mixed-use proposal that could have included a hotel has been nixed, city officials continue to seek out prospective lodging establishments.
Members of the city’s Community Development Authority on March 24 discussed possible overtures aimed at reaching out to hotel developers. The panel has frequently asserted the city needs more lodging.
CDA Chair Jeff Knight said he recently attended a meeting of the Association of Wisconsin Tourist Attractions, a trade-specific organization that has close ties to owners of lodging establishments.
Although no action was taken, Knight suggested advertising in the association’s publications and touting what Whitewater has to offer an investor in the lodging industry.
“We have something I think we can sell in Whitewater,” Knight said. “We’ve got TIF districts. We’ve got a tremendous need.”
TIF stands for tax-incremental financing district. It is a mechanism that allows municipalities to borrow money for infrastructure improvements. The increased property tax revenue from the improved land is then diverted from the tax rolls to pay off the loan.
While the city has heard from interested developers, Knight said he hopes the advertising would land squarely in the laps of the ultimate decision-makers: the investors.
Several panelists on the CDA discussed potentially embarking on a market study to back up the asserted need for more lodging in Whitewater. The cost for a study with municipal funds could be robust, however.
Previous Whitewater-specific market studies have been conducted by private firms, though Knight said information on those reports is proprietary and cannot be shared publicly.
The ongoing review for hotel options comes in the immediate aftermath of the denial of a proposed 217,400-square-foot development from Chicago-based senior living firm MHDC.
Developers within the company had proposed a three-pronged project that was to have included a hotel, sports complex and senior living facility, but the CDA and, ultimately, Common Council roundly shot it down.
