Hotel near Kelly/Shorts delayed due to greater than expected costs
The proposed Lodgco hotel outside Kelly/Shorts Stadium will be more expensive than initially anticipated and construction on the project has been delayed.
Initially, the hotels and adjacent suites attached to the stadium were to open in time for the 2012 football game against Michigan State.
Barrie Wilkes, associate vice president of Financial Services and Reporting and university controller, said at last Wednesday’s board of trustees Finance and Facilities Committee meeting the university and Lodgco have not reached an agreement.
“The hotel, they had some drawings developed, (was projected to be) considerably more expensive than what they had hoped would work,” Wilkes said. “We're to the point that the most important part is to get it done right and to get a deal that works for everybody.”
One of the problems is the property tax rate, he said.
“Athletics is disappointed, but not all that disappointed,” Wilkes said.
Wilkes said he is unsure when construction will start on the facility, but it will not be until after the MSU game.
“Having construction during the time MSU is here ... that mess would be a problem too,” he said.
