New District on the Table

Birmingham Mayor William Bell next week expects to present a plan to the City Council for a $70 million mixed-use hotel, retail, restaurant, and entertainment district next to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.

In an interview with the Birmingham News, Bell said the proposed district has been dubbed Marketplace and would be built before proceeding with a long-planned domed stadium project.

The $500 million bond-financed stadium project would be delayed for several years.

The hotel proposed for the new district may carry a Westin Hotels flag.

“We’ve been talking with the Westin representatives,” Bell told the paper. “They are in the process of finishing up their feasibility study and we are in the process of finishing up how we are going to finance it.”

The plan is to extend a current 14% lodging tax to 30 years, since it now expires in five years, to provide a revenue stream for bonds to finance a portion of the project. Private financing may also play a role.

“If we demonstrate that we can expand the capacity in the area from 650 rooms to around 1,000 rooms, that will put us in a different category of attracting larger conferences and conventions,” the mayor said.

A date for Bell to present the district plans to the council was not immediately announced.

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