The Trenton Times published the following article on May 9, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

Trenton mayor seeks meeting with state officials on funding for Trenton Marriott transition to Wyndham

By Erin Duffy/The Times of Trenton 
on May 09, 2013 at 7:15 AM, updated May 09, 2013 at 7:18 AM

TRENTON — The city is weighing the next step for its downtown Trenton Marriott hotel after the state and council both balked at giving the hotel any more city funding.

The city council pulled a request for another $200,000 for hotel transition costs from the docket at its meeting Tuesday after learning the state Department of Community Affairs refused to authorize anymore city financing until seeing a clear, concrete, written plan spelling out how the hotel will become profitable and find the estimated $3 million needed for a renovation.

City Business Administrator Sam Hutchinson said yesterday Mayor Tony Mack wrote to the DCA asking for a sit-down meeting to discuss the hotel.

While Mack has said in the past he wouldn’t oppose selling the city-owned hotel, a tactic increasingly supported by several city council members despite the $30 million of long-term debt the hotel is saddled with, Hutchinson said the mayor wants to work toward a solution that keeps the hotel from closing and laying off its 100 or so workers.

“I know the mayor certainly doesn’t want the hotel to go dark,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson told council on Tuesday that Mack had put the $200,000 funding request from the Lafayette Yard Community Development Corp. hotel board on the agenda and that he, Hutchinson, did not support it.

The funding cut-off comes just five weeks before Marriott and the hotel’s current management company plan to pull out, on June 14, and as the hotel board continues its negotiations to have Wyndham take over as the hotel’s brand. The board signed a contract with new management company Marshall Hotels & Resorts on Friday and has been trying to orchestrate a smooth transition with Wyndham and Marshall so the hotel remains open after Marriott departs.

Hotel board chairwoman Joyce Kersey did not return a call for comment yesterday.

Hutchinson said he still thought the hotel deal could be saved, but said the board could not count on the cash-strapped city alone to fork over all the funds. Wyndham and Marshall representatives have estimated it will cost $2.3 million to give the 11-year-old hotel a face lift and up to an additional $550,000 for transition costs, including a new marketing campaign and new hotel reservation system.

“I don’t think the city, from my standpoint, has the ability to just hand over $3 million to the LYCDC,” Hutchinson said. “I would not recommend that at all.”

He said the city and the DCA need to see an entirely new board made up of hotel and business professionals and a more detailed plan to make the struggling hotel profitable instead of vague projections predicting success.

“We have to, we need to, change courses,” he said. “We can’t simply put a new train on old tracks. And that’s what the DCA is saying as well. Show us something more concrete, more comprehensive.”

While saying they’ve worked hard to plan a complicated hotel transition in less than a year, Hutchinson also criticized the hotel board for coming to council every few months to ask for more funding — a $295,000 cash call in March, $200,000 now, potentially $3 million in the future.

“As far back as February, I discouraged them, don’t piecemeal this council,” he said. “They knew they needed $3 million six months ago. I certainly appreciate the work the board is doing, but you’re not just going to be able to force a decision down the throat of the city taxpayers. … Even signing contracts, you’re signing contracts and you have no money.”

Hutchinson said he thought it was still possible for the city, state and hotel board to sit down and hash out a transition plan and find a new brand and new financing for the hotel. It just might not happen by June 15.

“I’m hopeful that even while we’re faced against time crunches, that we can do a successful transition,” he said. “It may not be within 45 days or whatever’s remaining, but I do think it’s possible.”