The original plan for the proposed Hotel and Convention Center project in downtown Lancaster called for additional investors in the project. This plan called for an outside company to manage both the hotel and the convention center, and have a financial stake in the hotel project.
A confidential Request For Proposals was issued in late 1999. This document includes very detailed descriptions of the project, estimated financials, and incentives for the investors. This document was never released to the public.
Here is a quote from the opening page of the RFP, which provides a summary of the original 1999 plan (abandoned in early 2003):
The Proposed Project as presented in the CIM envisions a 294-room, First-Class hotel with an attached 74,140-square foot Conference/Convention Center (with the capacity for expansion to 100,000 square feet). The Hotel component is to be developed both within the historic Watt & Shand Department Store Building, constructed over a period of almost 100 ears beginning in the mid-1800s, and in a new 18-story tower constructed over the Watt & Shand building at its southeast corner.
The Conference/Convention Center will be constructed on the vacant parcel south of the Watt & Shand Building and will initially consist of two floors of conference and exhibit space, and associated support facilities (the first floor will contain 27,000 square feet of configured conference and pre-function space, with the second floor containing an appoximate 30,000-square foot exhibit hall and 8,000 square feet of pre-function space). Additionally, the Hotel and Conference/Convention Center components will be connected to the King Street Parking Garage, which will undergo a renovation and an expansion of two floors as part of the Proposed Project (yielding a total of 1,028 available spaces at the garage).
A later page describes the purpose of this project:
Lancaster's public and private sectors are seeking to improve downtown Lancaster through the conversion and reuse of the historic Watt & Shand Department Store Building (on the National Registry of Historic Places) and the construction of an adjacent conference/convention facility.
Of course, the current plan calls for the Watt & Shand building to be demolished, except for the facade. The original plan explained the benefits of saving the building:
The Watt & Shand Department Store Building (which will house a portion of the Hotel) is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and is thus potentially eligible for historic tax credits of up to 20 percent of the eligible redevelopment costs.
The current plan is no longer eligible for historic tax credits, a consequence of demolishing most of the Watt & Shand building.
Some of the information contained in this document was eventually released to the public in bits and pieces over time. Other information has never been made public, including the existence of this RFP.
Here is the original RFP, available for download:
CLICK HERE to read the entire 1999 RFP (WARNING: 10 Meg.)
CLICK HERE for a low-resolution (dial-up) version of the entire 1999 RFP (1 1/2 Meg.)