The Trenton Times published the following article on May 16, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
Business leaders say money-losing Trenton Marriott must stay open
By Bridget Clerkin/The Times of Trenton
on May 16, 2013 at 6:44 PM, updated May 16, 2013 at 6:45 PMTRENTON — With the Trenton Marriott due to shut its doors June 15 unless it receives an injection of funding from a skeptical City Council, business leaders rallied this morning to show their support for keeping the hotel open, calling the city-owned facility essential for revitalizing the area.
At a meeting of the MidJersey Chamber of Commerce this morning, the business leaders repeatedly said that the capital city’s sole hotel could be a major economic driver and that its absence would send potential visitors a bad message and drive them to take their business elsewhere.
“Everyone knows there are some major concerns with the city, but having a hotel is like filling a pothole,” said Phil Kirschner, president of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. “It provides a foundation to build other things on here. Without a hotel, it would be very difficult to jump-start the economy.”
The support for the hotel drew a sharp response from Council President Phyllis Holly-Ward, who asked the business people why they waited to speak out until now, after the city has struggled for months over the Marriott’s fate.
“Where have you been? Where were you at? Did the idea of closing the hotel scare you enough to do something now?” she asked. “We need help, we need support and maybe a partnership, because if we put this on the backs of the taxpayers, they can’t afford another penny. We have senior citizens eating dog food because they can’t afford their taxes as it is.”
The meeting was held in a suite at Arm & Hammer Field, Trenton’s minor-league baseball stadium, a day after the state Department of Community Affairs sent a letter to the city urging it to sell off the money-losing hotel. Without an infusion of $200,000, the hotel could close June 15, when the current management company and Marriott flag will be leaving the property.
The money would go toward transition costs for rebranding the building as a Wyndham hotel and bringing in a new management company. Company executives have said the city will need to spend another $3 million to bring the building up to their specifications.
“We’re trying to save it, but the more we’re trying to plug the hole, the more they’re spending, so we need some help, guys,” Holly-Ward said. “I don’t want the hotel to fail, but I can’t keep throwing good money at the bad. We need a plan.”
She urged the meeting attendees to make a “public declaration” of their support at the next council meeting, which could help clarify the situation and rally the public’s support, she said.
MidJersey chamber president Bob Prunetti did not say if will attend the council meeting, but assured Holly-Ward that his organization would support those trying to preserve the hotel.
“If we assembled a little too late, we’re here now,” he said. “I can assure you, we’re behind the effort to save the hotel. We don’t know what the solution is, but we’re behind your effort.”
Prunetti, the former Mercer County executive, said he had met several times with staff in Gov. Chris Christie’s office to discuss the issue in his role as a board member of the Capital City Redevelopment Corporation. The talks were preliminary and no decisions were made, but Prunetti brought up the idea of sharing the financial burden of the hotel with the county and the state, he said.
“We think that ultimately, the hotel should be a private endeavor, but that can’t happen overnight,” Prunetti said. “It will have to transition to being privately owned in some form.”
Attendees at this morning’s event said they were confident the hotel could successfully become a private business, should it remain open. Kirschner said many people had doubted that the Trenton Thunder minor league baseball team, which plays at the county-owned ballpark, would be successful, but the park now attracts nearly half a million visitors a year.
Others brought up Trenton’s status as the state capital, its riverfront views and rich history as selling points for tourists who would want to stay at the hotel.
“Anyone who needs more convincing that we need to invest in Trenton, look at this,” Prunetti said, gesturing toward the view of the Delaware River from top-floor suite at Arm & Hammer Field where the meeting was taking place.
“Look at that beautiful waterfront view, and further down, the capital seat,” he said. “We have stakes in this city and we can make this happen, if we start today.”