The Tucson City Council on Tuesday night signed off an eight-year property tax incentive deal worth more than $1.6 million that will help transform the roughly 40-year-old Riverpark Inn Hotel west of downtown.
Owner Brian Corbell plans a $2.2 million renovation of the 134-room hotel, at 777 W. Cushing St., to make the hotel more competitive for conventions in downtown Tucson and to expand the Pueblo Gem & Mineral Show.
Planned renovations include new finishes and furniture, fixtures and equipment for common areas and rooms. Room improvements include new bathrooms, heating/air conditioning upgrades, and sliding glass doors.
And by one estimate, the renovations would result in about $16,5000 worth of improvements for each room of the hotel.
As part of the Government Property Lease Excise Tax deal with Corbell, the city would receive a one-time deposit of $200,000 from the hotel. The funds would be held by the city until all conditions of the deal are met, including revenue projections. The GPLET program was created to help spur development by allowing agreements between local government and private parties that replace a building's property tax with an excise tax based on the property's size and use.
A third party economic assessment suggest the project will generate $1,204,061 in direct revenue and $520,059 in indirect revenue over the eight-year period.
