04/05/2024
Lot 10 (former flea market) lot info from Michael Weisner
This explains so much. Long but worth it. Please read. Shared with his permission
Mayor and Council of Salisbury,
The proposed hotel and conventions center in downtown Salisbury has been in the news lately, with the developer threatening to kill this project if they do not receive the proceeds of a $4 million state grant. The hotel is to be built on what was Parking Lot 10, which is better known as the location of a weekend flea market. This lot contained 217 parking spaces and approximately 3 acres, with an assessed value of $1,702,900. The City declared this parking lot surplus property and put it up for sale. Two offers were received. At a special meeting held in 2023, the City turned down a $500,000 bid from an out-of-state company but accepted a $75,000 bid from the local developer who built the Ross student housing. Additionally, the City applied for a state infrastructure grant of $4 million to assist in developing a hotel/convention center, since this would aid economic development of downtown Salisbury. The developer now says if they do not receive the full $4 million grant, the hotel project will not proceed.
State funded grants must be used for the purposes to which they were approved. It is up to the developer to work within the parameters of the grant. The City is also required to ensure that these funds are used as intended. If the developer meets the specifications of the grant application, they get the funds. If not, they aren’t eligible to receive these funds. For the developer to say, give me the full $4 million or we walk away from the hotel project, is not how grants work. Even if the developer receives the full $4 million grant monies, there is no guarantee that a hotel/convention center will be built. The developer is already threatening to cancel this project now, so what would prevent them from doing so in the future?
All the discussion about development of Lot 10 has revolved around the construction of a hotel/conference center. However, the contract of sale for this property states “The buyer’s intended development plan shall either include multifamily apartment housing, office space, hotels, restaurant, ground level retail, storm water management facilities, parking structures, or other code compliment uses, or a combination of the aforementioned development types.” A hotel is just one of many uses that this land can be used for. The deed, signed by the City, contains no restrictions on what can be built on the land it sold.
And what happens if the developer decides not to build a hotel? The developer still retains ownership to the 3 acres for only a fraction of its value and keeps whatever grant monies they receive to cover their own expenses. And being located in downtown, a hotel or residential apartments also qualify for 20 years of property tax credits under the Horizon program.
There needs to be accountability on the developer to deliver on their promise to build a hotel/conference center. So far, it has only been words. Without a written agreement, the City ends up without a hotel/convention center and without a valuable parking lot which it sold for pennies on the dollar. But the developer keeps the land, the $4 million grant and retains the right to build whatever will yield them the greatest profit.
A new hotel/convention center would be a wonderful addition to downtown Salisbury. The Mayor and Council should work with the developer to facilitate its construction. But the City also needs to protect the public interest and ensure that it receives what has been promised. And a hotel/conventions center is what was promised.
Michael C. Weisner
