San Diego hotel owners near the Southern California city’s convention center have voted in favor of creating an assessment district to help fund an expansion of the facility.
The tax on the district will help support $500 million worth of bonds the city plans to use to finance construction of the expansion.
In January, the San Diego City Council approved the creation of the convention center financing district, which required a two-thirds vote by the taxpayers.
The district will generate an estimated $35.7 million a year over 30 years, helping pay for the majority of the proposed $520 million expansion.
San Diego will add $3.5 million annually, while the port district will put down $3 million a year, according to city officials.
“Not only will this expansion help us keep the conventions we have now from leaving for other cities with larger centers, it will help us attract the next, larger tier of conventions,” San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said in a written statement.
City officials estimate the San Diego Convention Center expansion will create 11,000 jobs and generate 12.7 million in hotel tax revenue for city services, while adding $700 million a year into the local economy.
The City Council will vote in early May to certify the hotel district election results and will also ask the courts to validate the legality of the funding plan.
