The project’s master plan agreement, originally proposed in June 2017 and finalized in May 2019, set construction to begin by April 1, 2020, with a required completion date of April 1, 2022. However, the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the project schedule, Roanoke City Manager Scott Campbell.
“The COVID situation took a large toll on the hospitality industry, and everyone is watching to see at what rate the industry bounces back before initiating a new project,” Campbell said. “Our hope is the next few months will paint a clearer picture on how things will shake out in the market, and we can then begin to identify a more realistic schedule for moving forward.”
So far, City Council has made several extensions to the project's official start date on the contract in light of recent events. The most recent extension pushed the start date back to Aug. 1, but Campbell said they will have to push it back again.
"Once we get a better feel for how things are going to shake out, relative to the pandemic, then we'll sit back down with the hotel and try to identify some specific dates and timelines that we can put back into that agreement and try to solidify [the timeline]," he said. "Once we get those dates nailed down, we'll have to amend the agreement because we don't want it open-ended. We've got to have some benchmark dates that they'd have to satisfy."
The project design showed the hotel would have 300 rooms and over 25,000 square feet of event space upon completion. Two restaurants, two bars, a spa, an athletic club and an open rooftop with a swimming pool were also part of the design.
Community Impact Newspaper previously reported that the city will be partially funding the project—the convention center, a portion of the parking garage and related infrastructure improvements—having passed a resolution in November 2019 to issue up to $30 million in bonds to aid with construction. The bond money would be repaid with hotel occupancy tax money, according to city documents.
According to Campbell, with the project currently on halt, the developer has been working to determine the best private funding mechanisms for the project to remain on track amid the pandemic.
"The developer and the city are kind of reevaluating what the best funding options are for both of us now, given the current situation with the pandemic," Campbell said. "The debt was going to be serviced with hotel-motel tax. And when you have a situation where the hospitality industry was was hit the way it was, we've got to go back and make sure that the market is going to be strong enough to support us as we issue our debt."
