By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
A development group with plans to build a hotel north of Interstate 70 in Hays has a Dec. 12 public hearing date regarding creation of the Saffron West 43rd Community Improvement District.
Saffron Hospitality LLC has submitted a petition to create the CID, which was reviewed by the Hays City Commission during its work session Thursday.
A four-story, 42,000-square-foot Avid-IHG (Intercontinental/Holiday Inn) full-service hotel would be built on 2.1 acres south of Walmart at 208 W. 43rd.
With 79 rooms, “it’s a moderate-to-low (cost) extended-stay hotel,” Mayor Henry Schwaller said of the Avid brand. “It’s very clean, very sleek.
“It’s a welcome addition,” he added. “We don’t have anything quite like it.”
The estimated project cost is $7,046,870.
“The developer requests a 2 percent CID sales tax on the project site to fund certain project expenditures on a pay-as-you-go basis,” explained Kim Rupp, finance director.
The project’s annual taxable sales would be about $1.2 million, the developer has estimated, from which approximately $480,000 would be generated over the 20-year term of the CID.
“To be clear, these are not sales taxes that already exist. They are an additional sales tax on retail sales at the defined property,” Rupp added. “Basically, it’s something the landowner or the developer wishes to impose on themselves to help reimburse for items.”
Total CID eligible costs of the proposed project are $5,199.133.
If approved, the total sales tax within the new CID would be 10.25 percent, excluding the city’s transient guest tax.
Construction would begin immediately with a projected finish in December 2020.
If the CID is not approved, the developer has declared the project cannot go forward, according to Rupp.
Information submitted to Grow Hays and the city of Hays lists Srujan Vusi as manager of Saffron Hospitality, 3404 Vine.
The city commission has previously authorized CIDs for the Hilton Garden Inn, currently under construction west of Walmart; TownePlace Suites, 4001 General Hays; and Holiday Inn Express, 4650 Roth. All four hotels are north of I-70.
In other business, commissioners heard information about construction of a classroom in the Hays Fire Department’s new fire/rescue training facility south of the water reclamation and reuse facility.
The joint project will involve student designers and builders from Fort Hays State University as well as NCK Tech students who will plumb and install electricity for the building. Students from both colleges were in the audience and were thanked by the commission for their involvement.
The fire department will solicit bids for the purchase and installation of the HVAC system.
The commission approved moving forward with the classroom. Cost estimates are $45,000 to be funded from capital projects.
A 30-minute executive session was called at the end of the meeting to discuss property acquisition. No action was taken.