It is highly unlikely that any Federal dollars will ever be sent to the downtown Lancaster hotel and convention center. This project has already run afoul of two previous administrations because of its blatant disregard for long-standing Federal historic preservation standards.
When this project was originally proposed, Federal tax credits had been expected to significantly reduce the tax burden created by the hotel. Since it was determined that the overwhelming size of the hotel tower made the project ineligible for historic tax credits, the Penn Square Partners completely avoided paying any taxes by coercing Lancaster City into taking ownership of the Watt & Shand building, and constructing the hotel for them.
