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SALT LAKE CITY — The Governor’s Office of Economic Development Board voted Tuesday to approve a proposal for a new $337 million downtown convention center hotel.
The 680,000-square-foot hotel will be located on the southeast corner of the Salt Palace Convention Center block and will include between 700 and 750 rooms with 62,000 square feet of meeting space consisting of a 25,000-square-foot grand ballroom, a 14,000-square-foot junior ballroom and an outdoor rooftop amenity space, according to a news release.
The hotel at 200 S. West Temple will directly connect to the Salt Palace Convention Center and will be about 325 feet tall.
The New Convention Facility Development Incentive provides a post-performance incentive to add $281 million in capital investment over 20 years. The new convention center hotel will be a joint venture between DDRM, a real estate developer headquartered in St. George, and Portman Holdings, a real estate development, investment and management company.
“The hotel convention center has been discussed for several years and is a need in our community,” said GOED Executive Director Val Hale. “With the approval of this incentive, the state can attract larger conferences and Utah can enter into a new market for meetings and conventions.”
Portman Holdings and DDRM expect to break ground on the new facility in the fall of 2019 with the hotel operator to be announced early next year. The hotel is slated to open in 2022.
“We are pleased to partner with the county and DDRM to build this convention hotel in Salt Lake City," Ambrish Baisiwala, CEO of Portman Holdings, said in a statement. "We have found Utah, Salt Lake County and Salt Lake City to be both business-friendly and a strong destination market with an excellent airport, infrastructure and leisure activities in proximity to the Salt Palace Convention Center.”
“DDRM is fortunate to join with Portman to bring this hotel to Utah," said Stan Castleton of the DDRM Companies. "Portman’s convention hotel experience, creativity and financial resources are very prominent within the industry worldwide and will help us create something that will make the entire state of Utah proud.”
Salt Lake City CH LLC may earn up to 100 percent of the new incremental states sales tax over the life of the agreement in the form of a post-performance Economic Development Tax Increment Finance tax credit rebate. The GOED board approved a post-performance tax credit rebate not to exceed $75 million over the 20-year agreement. Salt Lake City CH LLC may earn 100 percent of city and county sales tax and property tax over 25 years, including the conveyance of land on the Salt Palace site from Salt Lake County.
Each year that Salt Lake City CH LLC meets the criteria in its contract with the state, it will earn a portion of the total tax credit rebate.
Portman Holdings says the hotel may increase direct visitor spending in Utah by up to $45 million per year.
