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Fairview Hotel and Conference Center will be located in this lot on Eaglecrest Drive.
Lockwood Subdivision’s proposed development will include 24 single family homes.
The Emporia City Commission approved a development agreement with Fairview Hotels LLC Tuesday morning in a move that helps ensure the successful construction and sustainability of the $17.1 million hotel and conference center project.
The hotel and conference center will be located at 3010 Eaglecrest Dr. and will include 88 hotel rooms and a large conference center.
Fairview Hotels LLC is being developed by KMG Hotels, owned by Jay Koshiya and Sanjay Koshiya. KMG owns and operates eleven national hotels, representing various franchises like Marriott, Hilton, Starwood, Inter Continental Hotels Group, and Choice Hotels International, with over 1,600 rooms.
Special Projects Director Tayler Wash said this is an exciting development for the City of Emporia.
“I think the most exciting part of this project is the conference center that will be connected to the hotel,” Wash said. “There will also be additional hotel space, which is always good for generating transient guest tax revenue. The development group has already had success with their current Hampton Inn there, so we’re excited to continue working with them.”
The agreement includes several incentives already agreed upon by the city, including the development of a 2% Community Incentive District — which extends to the adjacent Hampton Inn, also owned by KMG Hotels — and a 10-year property tax abatement through Industrial Revenue Bonds.
“The CID is already established, and it’s already generating revenue at the existing site, and it will once the new site as well,” Wash said. “The IRB has already been in process, and it’s already given them a little bit of help with the sales tax with construction.”
Construction is set to begin either later this year or early next year, and Wash said there are no out-of-pocket costs for the city.
The city also approved Lockwood Subdivision for participation in the Reinvestment Housing Incentive District. The RHID program allows municipalities to capture incremental increases in real property taxes generated by housing projects for up to 25 years. This revenue can then be utilized for reimbursing incurred costs or servicing debt on bonds, ultimately incentivizing developers to invest in housing projects within the community.
The Lockwood Subdivision, formerly known as Woodco, will be located at W. Sixth Avenue and Industrial Road. The subdivision previously received approval for RHID eligibility from the Department of Commerce on July 27, 2022. Following changes in ownership, a public hearing was conducted on October 18th, 2023, to discuss the development plans for the subdivision.
Developers include Mid Kansas Properties LLC — Steve Sauder, Commissioner Jamie Sauder, T.J. Sauder, and Brady Sauder.
The subdivision will feature 24 single-family lots. The developer will bear the costs for public water and sewer infrastructure, while streets within the subdivision will be designated as private.
Commissioners Sauder and Erren Harter abstained from Tuesday’s vote.
Commissioners also:
Approved an ordinance annexing Industrial Park IV into the city limits.
Approved a bid of $112,515 for the Bald Eagle Pond Renovation at the David Traylor Zoo of Emporia.
Appointed Christy Grant to the Emporia Human Relations Commission.
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(8) comments
While the new hotel will offer travelers the illusion of a choice (and possible price fixing) as both it and the adjacent Hampton Inn are owned by the same individuals, what drew my ire from the recent city action was the approval of $112K for a pond for the bald eagle exhibit. A quick Google search reveals the average cost of a residential pool is only $40-$60K. While emblematic of the nation, these birds will be lapping in luxury. My apologies to those offended by mixing metaphors.
This really seems like this motel is a duplication of services for our town. I am afraid that when it is operational it will put another motel out of business. Other motels should have gone to the city and county commissioners to get this project shut down. Does any of this sound familiar to anyone. It should be considered unconstitutional.
This is the nature of capitalism in a deregulated economy. Anyone who has capital to invest and thinks they can out-compete another business gets to try. I am unaware of anything in the U.S. or Kansas Constitutions that protect existing businesses from competition from others.
Newman Regional Health comes to mind.
So then your saying it is unconstitutional for the city and Newman hospital to block Stormont Vail from building in Emporia. That was my original point.
That's a lot of moo la. I'd think that saving the constantly failing water infrastructure and streets. I mean it might be award meeting at a 17+ million hotel and conference center and talking about how bad the streets are and the water main ruptures all the time wouldn't have much incentive to bring business & people to the city and stop the declining population. But that's just me.
Mark, it seems that your last sentence here is right on target. Emporia continues to attract accolades and large investments. What do you suppose it is that they all know that you don't?
To me it sounds like Mark believes that the $17 million to build the hotel is coming from the city... and if I'm wrong about that, then it sounds like he's suggesting the hotel owner should spend his money to fix water lines instead of building his hotel. I'm gonna have to disagree either way.
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