The Lake Charles City Council unanimously approved the two ordinances needed to proceed with lakefront development projects announced earlier this month.

Earlier this month, the city revealed plans to build a new lakefront hotel and conference center on Lake Charles Event Center grounds and a new amphitheater where the Hertz tower used to sit.

To get the projects off the ground, two things had to be approved by the council: the cooperative endeavor agreement ReNew Lake Charles LLC — an investment group committed to “renewing and rehabilitation” downtown Lake Charles and the lakefront — for the construction of the hotel and conference center and the purchase of the empty 6.3-acre lot and the parking garage.

The 154-room hotel will be built by ReNew on property leased by the city. It will be operated under the Hilton Garden Inn brand. It will feature a full-service restaurant, a pool and a lounge overlooking the lake.

Conference center space will be constructed adjacent to the Event Center grounds. While it will be part of the hotel, the city will own the conference center space, said Director of Finance Emily McDaniel.

The city is contributing $15 million with funds from the Economic Downtown Development sales tax revenue and Ward 3 sales tax revenues collected by the state on behalf of the Event Center, she said.

Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter said the $15 million will not be going towards the construction of the hotel. The contribution will be put towards the construction of the conference space, site prep and utility upgrades. The total cost of the project is $40 million.

The anticipated sales tax revenue generated by the hotel and conference center for the City is over $520,000 in the first year. This will grow to $610,000 in year four, McDaniel told The American Press.

“They do not include sales tax generated from the amphitheater, Downtown restaurants or other ripple economic effects.”

The amphitheater project will happen alongside the construction on the Event Center grounds. The proposed amphitheater will hold 3,500 and the parking garage will be renovated.  The Lakefront Amphitheater project was included in the LC Rebound bond proposal passed by voters last year, but the original plan was to rehabilitate the existing amphitheater, Hunter said.

The city will purchase the property and parking garage for $2.9 million. The land was assessed for “well over $3 million” and the cost to build a new parking garage of that caliber would cost $15 million, he said.

Some concerns were raised following the project announcement, one of which was parking. BAC Productions owner Bart Caple said at the meeting that sacrificing parking space for the hotel is “suicidal.”

“I am all for progress, I’m all for making Lake Charles better, but don’t kill the goose that laid the golden egg. … I want Lake Charles to be better, too. But you can’t screw up the parking.”

Hunter said the parking garage will support downtown parking needs.

Nimesh Zaver, president and CEO of Insignia Hotel Management, emailed a document with 35 questions to city officials and media outlets on Tuesday. These questions covered subjects like the council review process, developer selection, hotel construction, parking and the “impact on local infrastructure and competitors.”

The list was accompanied by a request for the council to table the two ordinances and discuss the projects with local hoteliers. At the meeting, Zaver said the group of hoteliers is not against the project but would like to see the hotel operated “on a more private base.”

“At the end of the day, we don’t want to see this hotel be the city’s liability,” he said. “We know the cyclical business. This business goes up, and it could go down. We just don’t want to see this hotel fail, one way or the other.”

Plenty of support was voiced, as well.

Dave Evans, owner of Luna Bar & Grill and president of the Downtown Business Association, said the DBA is in “complete support” of the developments.

“It’s what we need. We need change. We need help,” he said. “Downtown has been where it’s been. I’ve been there for 20 years and it’s a snail’s pace. We need all the help we can get.”

Councilmember Rodney Geyen, District C, said he has been waiting 24 years for a downtown hotel.

“We know that hotels bring people and people bring business and economic growth take place. What city would you go to that is growing that you will not find a hotel on the main scheme of things?”

His sentiments were echoed by Council President Craig Marks, District F, who also said the matter should not be tabled.

“The administration, from my knowledge, has done everything. This is not, despite what people are saying, the was not just presented to use two weeks ago. This was a process that took months. The bids were open … We have to make a decision for this city.”

Both motions were approved with a vote of six in support. Council Vice President Luvertha August, District B, was not present to vote.