The Trenton Times published the following article on May 24, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

Trenton council gives preliminary approval to borrow $3 million to renovate Marriott

By Jenna Pizzi/The Times of Trenton 
on May 24, 2013 at 7:15 AM, updated May 24, 2013 at 7:17 AM

TRENTON — City Council voted to approve $200,000 for the city-owned hotel and gave preliminary approval for an ordinance to borrow $3 million for renovations to the hotel at their meeting last night.

The $3 million ordinance was approved in first reading by a slim vote of 4-3, but will require 5 yes votes to pass in a second reading. The money would be used to help convert the current Marriott hotel to a Wyndham-brand inn. The $200,000 would be used for immediate management needs.

The ordinance will be sent to the state Department of Community Affairs, which monitors the city’s borrowing, for consideration. Representatives from the Lafayette Yard Community Development Corp., the board that oversees hotel operations, told council members if they did not fund both the $200,000 and the $3 million, the hotel will close, making it more difficult to sell the asset if the city decides to do that.

Council members, the administration and the DCA have said the ultimate goal is to sell the hotel, which is saddled with debt and has been a constant drain on city finances.

The hotel has $30 million in debt, which includes more than $13.3 million in city bonds, as well as a $7.3 million investment from the Trenton Parking Authority, $5 million from the state and $2 million from the state Economic Development Authority.

The city is currently switching to a new hotel management company and hotel brand, as Marriott has decided it no longer wants to be involved with the hotel. The current management contract runs out on June 15.

Joyce Kersey, the LYCDC chairwoman, said the hotel board has done a lot of work in the last few months to make sure that the new management company for the hotel is the right choice. The LYCDC has already signed a 3-year contract with Marshall, the new hotel management company, but negotiations have stalled with Wyndham, the hotel flag the board hopes to fly.

The local business community has lent its support to the hotel, urging the council to approve the funding measures.

In a letter to the board yesterday, MIDJersey Chamber of Commerce president Robert Prunetti said the hotel helps to attract business and tourists to the city.

“Investors would be looking elsewhere as the absence of a hotel in a Capital City would sent potential visitors and investors a bad message — A message that Trenton is not open for business,” Prunetti said.

John Clarke, the president of the Trenton Downtown Association, warned council members that the hotel cannot “go dark.”

“Every day it is closed your ability to sell it will diminish,” Clarke said.

Will Smith, the general manager of the Trenton Thunder, said if it weren’t for the city hotel, he would have no place to put up players who come to town.

“There is no other hotel in town,” he said.

He warned council, who had floated the idea of opening the hotel without a flag, that the brand name gives him and his company the knowledge that the lodgings are up to a particular standard, and urged them to make keeping a flag on the hotel a priority.

City residents, weary of the city incurring more debt, said taxpayers cannot pay any more.

A spokeswoman for the union that represents the nearly 100 employees who work at the hotel, also asked council to do whatever is in their power to keep the hotel open.

Council will have a second reading of the ordinance at their meeting on June 6.

Contact Jenna Pizzi at jpizzi@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5717