Warner Robins council considers new hotel, convention center (Martin: 2015, school)

[Airforceguy]

Something like this would be a boost for the old downtown area of the city...

Warner Robins City Council members are considering a plan to bring a new hotel and conference center to town.

Some council members say this could create hundreds of jobs, but the funding process would be a little different.

It would be funded through, what's called, an EB-5 program.

That means foreign investors would pay for the development that creates American jobs. In turn, they would get a green card and get to live in the United States.

"The whole premise of EB-5 is really job creation," says Councilman Keith Lauritsen.

He belives this could bring some revitalization to Warner Robins.

"We're growing as a city," he explains. "But a lot of times, we are growing by rooftops. We really want to grow, also, in the public/private sector, where we have large businesses coming in and development coming in."

Warner Robins would work with the company Nysa Capital, who will be their go-between with investors and a developer.

Their goal is the creation of a hotel and conference center.

"It could create as many as several hundred jobs, depending on the scale we decide to do it," says Lauritsen.

The EB-5 program is run by the United States Citizen and Immigration Services, which mandates that every 500 thousand dollars invested in the project must create at least 10 jobs. If it does, the foreign investors can qualify for green cards to enter the U.S.

Warner Robins council considers new hotel, convention center

[Airforceguy]

Warner Robins is considering a tax district to improve their downtown. Glad to see Warner Robins is finally paying attention to their old "downtown".

First proposed in 2012, the special tax district would allow property values within a defined district to increase incrementally over 15 to 20 years. Taxes collected on the original property value would continue feeding into the city’s general fund, while the overages collected when the values increase over time would go into a special fund for redevelopment in the district.

The proposed 355-parcel area includes a portion of land beside Ga. 247 spanning from Duke Avenue to Martin Luther King Boulevard, stretching east between Young Avenue and Robins Drive before ending near Davis Drive and Commercial Circle. The total taxable value of the 170-acre district is $55.5 million, according to a draft report.

To create the district, the agency must first have the consent and support of the city, the Houston County Commission and the Houston County school board. That’s something it lacked in 2012. However, Mayor Randy Toms said all of those entities are now on board.

Read more here: New tax district could be key to Warner Robins hotel, conference center | The Telegraph

New tax district could be key to Warner Robins hotel, conference center | The Telegraph

[Airforceguy]

With dozens of blighted businesses and empty or overgrown lots, the current gateway to Warner Robins is “not as pleasing to the eye,” said Gary Lee, executive director of the agency. “What we’re trying to do is correct that. ... It’s not for us. It’s for the next generation that’s coming up behind us. We want to make it amenable and pleasing to the eye and be able to be an area that is going to be welcoming to outsiders.”

A tax allocation district was first attempted in 2012 as a means to attract a developer to build a hotel and conference center downtown. Those plans never came to fruition, but talks of moving forward with establishing the district re-emerged in the agency’s meeting earlier this week.

“The TAD is not to raise anyone’s taxes. It’s not that,” Lee said. “It’s used to help stimulate the development area so that we can bring in private investors to invest in our area.”

With the year the TAD is established set as the base year, the district allows for any future growth in property tax revenue to be collected into a special fund to be used for redevelopment infrastructure within the district. Typically, TADs can last from 15 to 25 years, but the agency has not yet defined a timeframe.

The proposed 355-parcel area includes a portion of land beside Ga. 247 spanning from Duke Avenue to Martin Luther King Boulevard, stretching east between Young Avenue and Robins Drive before ending near Davis Drive and Commercial Circle. The total taxable value of the 170-acre district is $55.5 million, according to a draft report.

Included in the proposed district is Chuck’s Bait, Tackle, Gun and Pawn at 603 Watson Blvd.

“It’d be nice if they’d bring something down here to get something stirred up because this end of town is dead,” said Chip Williams, co-owner of Chuck’s. “That conference center would be good. That would bring out-of-towners in and restaurants and, you know, anything for that matter. Any retail business that would lure people down to this side of town would be great. ... I’d love the property value to increase.”

Read more here: Warner Robins prepares for future makeover | The Telegraph

Warner Robins prepares for future makeover | The Telegraph