Boston has had an inferiority complex for about 100 years now.
"Panel proposes convention center hotel; Plan seeks $200m in subsidies, says growth would lure events" March 19, 2011|By Casey Ross, Globe Staff
A state panel is considering construction of a 1,000-room hotel next to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center that would require $200 million in public subsidies....
When does the looting of the public so elites can live luxuriously end?
The total cost that could run to $2 billion. The panel has not yet estimated how much public aid the expansion of the convention center itself would require.
Officials involved in the planning said the hotel, estimated to cost about $640 million, is needed to help the city grow into one of the nation’s top meeting destinations. They said the largest business meetings and trade shows are bypassing Boston because there are too few hotel rooms within walking distance of the center.
“We’re losing business, plain and simple,’’ said James Rooney, head of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. “Over the last three years alone we’ve competed for 46 events that have told us they can’t come to Boston because we don’t have enough hotel inventory.’’
Boston has 1,700 hotel rooms within a half-mile of the convention center; its ultimate goal is 6,000 rooms. That would still leave Boston with fewer rooms than its major competitors: Orlando has 10,800 within a half-mile of its facility, while New Orleans, Atlanta, and Philadelphia each have more than 8,000 rooms. Rooney and other officials said the authority can finance some of the hotel by issuing bonds, but a gap remains because larger institutional investors that traditionally back such projects are reluctant to invest....
That means Wall Street.
See: Municipal Bond Milking
You see who is getting first dibs at the tax loot?
The panel suggested the $200 million funding shortage for the Boston hotel could be eliminated by offering tax breaks, subsidized loans, state grants for infrastructure, and other assistance to induce investors or developers into the project....
Critics said the absence of private funding for the hotel is a clear warning there won’t be enough business to support it.
That has never $topped the criminal politician$ before. Not that the campaign contribution$ have anything to do with it.
The convention center, built with substantial public subsidies six years ago, received millions of dollars from the state in its early years to cover operating deficits, and to pay for construction of the adjacent Westin Boston Waterfront hotel.
Yeah, and LET'S POUR MORE TAXPAYER MONEY down a RAT HOLE!!!!!!!
“When do we stop digging?’’ said Charles Chieppo, a critic of expansion who owns a Massachusetts-based public policy research firm. “There is no market for this. It becomes this ‘trust me’ kind of thing where everything is squishy and subjective. But the bottom line is, the demand isn’t real.’’
Government and the state has forfeited trust with all the lying and looting.
But convention officials argue the new center has been a net benefit. While it’s received about $120 million in subsidies in six years, it has also generated more than $160 million in taxes, according to the authority. Moreover, the fund that collects convention-center related revenues was able to give the state $65 million in fiscal 2009 to help the government with its budget problems.
However....
I'm kinda sick of seeing the BUTS, STILLS, and HOWEVERS in my NEWSPAPER when my college writing instructor told us those were BAD WORDS for a REPORT!!!
But hey, it's a SECOND-CLASS NEWSPAPER these days, isn't it?
Some industry specialists said there will be a surplus of convention space that will leave Boston and other cities fighting over dwindling revenues to pay off huge expansion debts.
Hey, at least the banks are doing better than ever.
Go fight over those scraps, stupido 'murkns.
In 2009 a convention hotel in St. Louis fell into foreclosure, while authorities that financed facilities in Phoenix and Baltimore saw their credit ratings suffer.
Think that will stop Boston?
Rooney acknowledged that the market is saturated with space, but he argued Boston has proved an effective competitor and must grow to maintain its advantage.
And don't you dare question that growth premise!
Since its opening, the convention center has generated $3 billion in overall economic activity, Rooney said, and exceeded performance expectations in several categories. For example, he said, the facility produced $123 million in revenue from events between 2005 and 2010, when the estimate for that period was $52 million.
I'm so sick and tired of self-serving state shills and their s*** shoveling.
“I agree that there are a lot of other cities that never should have gotten into this. Those cities are not doing as well as Boston,’’ said Rooney, “but their troubles are not a reason for us to pack up our bat and ball and go home.’’
Even critics said Rooney has been effective running the convention center the past several years and has put Boston on the map in a highly competitive business. But they said other performance measures raise questions about the wisdom of expansion....
Just more questions in a long line that will never be listened to by the state or government.
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FLASHBACK:
"State, city want taxpayers to aid convention hotel" by Casey Ross, Globe Staff | May 7, 2010
State and city leaders want to build a 1,000-room hotel next to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, a project that will cost up to $700 million and almost certainly require millions of dollars in subsidies and taxpayer-supported loans.
How about KEEPING THEM in their HOMES, first?
Officials studying how to dramatically expand the convention center said another large hotel is necessary to attract the biggest events, and that building it without taxpayers’ help would be nearly impossible.
WHY?
See: More Millionaires Than Ever
(And there are even more this year)
SCRAP the PROJECT!
Related: Millionaire’s slaying a family affair, US says
You can keep it in-family, Glob.
The options are still being discussed, but officials said the project could involve a combination of tax breaks, public funds for road work and other upgrades, and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt that would be partly or entirely backed by taxpayers....
You know what that is?
FINANCIAL RAPE by the state of Massachusetts!!!
When the convention center opened in 2004, the city and state increased taxes on things such as rental cars, tourist tours, and hotel rooms to help pay for construction of the $800 million South Boston facility. Officials say they will examine whether to raise those again as part of any expansion of the convention center.
Un-flipping-real!
WHERE in the WORLD did ALL THAT TAX LOOT GO?
A committee of 25 public officials and business leaders has highlighted the hotel as a critical component of such an expansion, which would be undertaken with the goal of making Boston one of the nation’s top five cities in the convention business....
What that means is the top five in tax takes for corporations.
Now put it in the VAULT, readers.
Boston officials say they recognize the demand for additional hotel rooms and the need to examine sources of public support....
Do you REALLY want YOUR MONEY going for HOTEL ROOMS instead of TEACHERS, FIREFIGHTERS, or COPS, Boston?
In the last couple years, however, officials said it has lost dozens of large events because it does not have exhibit space or adjacent hotel rooms to accommodate gatherings of many thousands of people. And the big conventions that have come to Boston have faced logistical problems.
For example, attendees of a recent insurance convention were placed in 33 hotels across the city. The event required 8,000 hotel rooms, but the convention center has only 1,100 hotel rooms within walking distance. Most attendees had to be bused back and forth to their hotels, resulting in $300,000 in additional transportation costs.
Isn't that GOOD for LOCAL BUSINESSES and the BUS COMPANIES?
Please do not tell me the STATE PAYED for THAT?!!
James Rooney, executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, said the shortage of hotel rooms was also cited by several convention organizers who decided not to come to Boston, including the American Society of Safety Engineers, which required 4,000 rooms, and the National Safety Council, which required 6,500.
Related: Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth
Maybe you could host them sometime.
Also see: Patrick and Menino Choose Tall Ships Over Theater
They SPENT TAX MONEY on THAT?!!!
(That was were the convention center helped out?)
I suppose there COULD BE WORSE THINGS and HERE is ONE:
While there appears to be demand, large convention hotels are difficult to build because high construction costs make it difficult to earn the 20 to 25 percent profits demanded by private investors.
Yes, YOUR TAX MONEY is going into the PROFIT COLUMN for the "investor!"
In most cases public money is used to help defray costs through tax breaks, funds for road work or other infrastructure, and other assistance.
So that the "investor" can "make" a 25% RETURN, taxpayers!
Is that a FORECLOSURE NOTICE you just got in the MAIL?
In the last 10 years, only two hotels with more than 700 rooms have been built in the United States without public assistance, according to PiperJaffray, one of several consultants advising the convention center’s study committee. Both were in New York City.
In other parts of the country, large hotels are becoming increasingly reliant on public borrowing and subsidies. Since 1997, 15 hotels have been built with either publicly issued debt, direct funding to help with construction costs, or both. Among cities hosting those hotels are Chicago, Baltimore, San Diego, Tampa, St. Louis, and Phoenix.
YOUR GOVERNMENT SCREWING the S*** OUT of YOU, America!!!!
BUILDING HOTELS and PARTY SPOTS for the WEALTHY ELITE!
It is becoming increasingly common for convention hotels to be 100 percent publicly financed.
What, BANKS out of the BUSINESS?
These MUST BE REAL MONEY-LOSERS then, Boston!!!
Otherwise the COSTS would NOT BE FOBBED OFF on YOU so "investors" -- like banks? -- can make a 25% PROFIT!
Officials in Dallas, for example, are building a 1,000-room hotel with $480 million in government-issued bonds that will be paid off through operations of the hotel.
And if the HOTEL CAN'T COVER IT YOU WILL, taxpayers!!!!
The state is also providing tax breaks for 10 years, and the city of Dallas is guaranteeing 100 percent of the debt.
Proving their are subservient idiots everywhere.
A similar financing structure was used in 2005 to build a 1,100-room convention center hotel in Denver.
Proving their are subservient idiots everywhere.
The model works if the hotel succeeds, as it has in Denver. But
Ummm, YOU SEE THAT BUT, Boston taxpayers?
if the hotel fails, it can leave taxpayers facing a huge bill.
Just what you NEEDED, 'eh, taxpayers?
Some industry specialists warn that, with so many cities developing large hotels, demand is going to start to wane, making failures more likely.
Put a HOLD on the PROJECT!
Moreover, the US hotel market is already suffering in the down economy. Room rates in the Boston area are down 12 to 15 percent since 2007, and last week the W Hotel declared bankruptcy after just six months of operations. That breakdown came after the city of Boston had provided a $10.5 million loan to the W. Officials have said they secured enough collateral to protect against losses.
SUCKERS!!
“The construction costs of these hotels is so high that it becomes difficult to make enough revenue to pay off the debt,’’ said Michael Oshins, an associate professor at the Boston University School of Hospitality. “So there is some risk.’’
Yeah, but the agenda-pushing Globe waits until the end of the piece to tell you that!
Oshins pointed out the W’s failure was largely due to the inability to sell condominiums that were supposed to help raise enough money to pay off its debt in the near term.
Rooney said a similar failure would not occur at the convention center hotel because it would be supported by a steady stream of event traffic. He acknowledged that many other cities are also building convention hotels, but said Boston has proved it can compete for business....
Are you tired of being sold s*** promises by the state, taxpayers?
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