Editorial “Be It Resolved” includes the following: “Speaking of Lancaster Square, here’s a resolution for city and county officials: To smash that concrete monstrosity, even if it means another hole in the ground. The “Soviet block” of Queen Street has been an eyesore for too long. Now that the Brunswick hotel has a new operator in John Meeder and a new name, Hotel Lancaster, Lancaster Square needs an extreme makeover.”
WATCHDOG: Three wags of the tail for the Sunday News for finally following NewsLanc’s lead by implicitly criticizing the failure of Mayor Rick Gray and City Planner Randy Patterson to properly address the Lancaster Square East eyesore and lost opportunities. Gray and Patterson are suggesting the former Bulova Building be retained and turned into a bowling alley and bocci courts, along with retail uses which failed in the past.
As for the Hotel Lancaster, if totally renovated largely with state funds, it may divide so much of the Marriott’s business as to render both hotels economically unsound. That would not bode well for the City which leases the Marriott to Penn Square Partners.
On the other hand, if the Lancaster Hotel is not thoroughly renovated, which could cost eight million dollars or more, its future is cloudy. Without high occupancy, above 65%, and rates comparable to the Marriott’s (which unlike the Lancaster Hotel pays no real estate taxes), it is hard to understand how the Hotel Lancaster’s fate will differ from its predecessors.
Lancaster Square East, apart from the parking garage, should have been acquired by the City, razed, and sold for the development of upscale residential condominiums. But Gary and Patterson would not hear of this, even refusing to discuss the matter with those far more experienced than they. When it comes to city planning, the two of them are a disaster.
Now if only LNP could persuade PSP to become a true team player on the convention center saga and sign-off on the proposed agreement to restructure the financing of the center. Doing so would hopefully make it somewhat economically viable without further handicapping the city/county taxpayers.
We have unfortunately been made to guarantee PSP’s profits at the public feeding trough. A return to common decency by LNP ownership is awaited.
EDITOR: Penn Square Partners is a limited partnership, of which a subsidiary of the High companies is the general partner. The general partner calls the shot. A limited parter has a status similar to a stock holder in corporation.
What we don’t know is whether these local giants are playing good cop, bad cop; or whether they truly disagree.
I wonder if Mr. Meeder – who has a very good track record in Lancaster City – would have taken on the Brunswick had he not been promised $15.8 million in CRIZ funds? The publisher of NewsLanc.com has pointed out in the past that there was no way to make the Brunswick project work using private funds.
To be successful, the Hotel Lancaster needs to target a slightly different market segment than the Marriott (which is heavily subsidized through taxpayers, in that the hotel is located in a Lancaster City-owned building, and all of its meeting space which it uses for $100/year is owned by the Lancaster County Convention Center). The Marriott typically appeals to a higher-end clientele, with rates typically $179/night or higher, along with extra charges for parking and WiFi. If the Hotel Lancaster can appeal to a broader customer base with a less expensive rate, neither facility should harm the other.
EDITOR: This reminds us of the old joke that “we lose money on every sale but make it up in volume” Interest rates will be less. But the Lancaster Hotel will have to pay real estate taxes and its cost of operation will be at least as high as the Marriott’s. Also, unlike the Marriott, it won’t benefit from a sweetheart deal with the Convention Center.
We can understand why the above explanation seems reasonable to a layman, but not to an experienced and much scarred hotelier.
While the Marriott had been projected to run in that $179+ area! they are not!
They are averaging a heck of a lot closer to $130/night. That reality makes it even harder for any other iteration of the Brunswick to compete.