Following the results of the bond election, Mayor Scooter Gierisch shared his thoughts on the approval of the convention center bond.
"I am ecstatic," Gierisch said. "We’ve been working on this project for so many years and just getting approval gives us the opportunity to get this hotel project on the ground. It will foster community spirit and economic growth and I’d like to take the opportunity to thank the community for voting. I just can't wait to see all the great activities and events this convention center will bring to Roanoke.”
Updated 10 p.m., May 3
The unofficial results show that Roanoke's $62 million bond has passed with 554, or 55.79% approvals and 439, or 44.21% of voters against the bond. Denton County reported all precincts posted their votes as of 9:50 p.m.
Posted 8 p.m., May 3
Early results from Denton County and Tarrant County show voters are in favor of Roanoke’s $62 million bond for the construction of the convention center.
What happened
According to Denton County early voting results, 58.29%, or 369, of the voters were in favor for the new convention center in downtown Roanoke, compared to 264 of the voters, or 41.71%. Just one voter in Tarrant County voted in the bond election; they voted against it.
While the convention center was the only piece included in the bond election, the full project includes a privately owned and funded hotel and parking garage located east of city hall, Roanoke city officials said.
The convention center will be owned by the city and leased to the hotel owner for operation, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
The project will include conference rooms, meeting rooms, a ballroom, the hotel entrance, hotel amenities and a restaurant.
The funding
The bond will not increase property taxes for citizens since city officials expect the convention center to pay for itself using sales tax produced from the project.
The city has outlined different funding sources that will go towards paying for the convention center:
- 1% local sales tax
- 6.25% state sales tax due to qualified city status
- Hotel Occupancy Tax, which levies 13% per room price
- User fees
- 0.5% economic development sales tax
Breaking down the cost
The convention center's annual debt is about 3.6 million, city officials said. The net income will first pay off the hotel debt and then the convention center debt.
Garfield Public/Private LLC, the project's design manager, predicted the hotel operating revenue will be $22 million by 2030 with a net income of $7.5 million assuming a 72% occupancy rate.
Additionally, a venue tax could be voted on in a future election to increase revenue from the hotel by $350,000 to $40,000 annually, Mayor Scooter Gierisch said.
What’s next?
Community Impact will update this article as more election day vote totals are released. All results are unofficial until canvassed.
Visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide/election-results to see results from all local elections in your community.
