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$200,000 in government welfare for the ritzy Arizona Biltmore resort?
If this is approved the royal rulers on the Phoenix City Council instead of saying they p*ssed away $200,000 in taxpayer money, will brag they saved the taxpayers $800,000 because the Biltmore originally requested $1 million in corporate welfare. Sadly that's how government crooks operate. Phoenix panel proposes $200,000 for Biltmore resort repairs by Emily Gersema - Jun. 21, 2012 06:03 PM The Republic | azcentral.com A Phoenix City Council subcommittee has recommended granting the Arizona Biltmore $200,000 for renovations, a fraction of the more than $1 million the resort requested in May. The housing and neighborhoods subcommittee recommended using historic-preservation money funded with voter-approved bonds. The council is expected to vote July 3. The money is intended for renovating windows and doors in the historic resort built in 1929 near 24th Street and Missouri Avenue. The resort's owner, Boston-based MSR Biltmore Resort LP, did not return phone calls seeking comment. A spokeswoman for the hotel, Becky Blaine, said Thursday that she couldn't comment until someone from the corporate office called back with more information. Tom Simplot, the central Phoenix councilman on the subcommittee, said he regarded the grant as a fair investment by the city to help preserve a Phoenix landmark. "By providing this grant money, we ensure that we have a long-term historic overlay on that property and ensure that they put in 'like for like,'" he said. Councilman Jim Waring, a fiscal conservative who represents northeast Phoenix and is on the housing and neighborhoods subcommittee, said he has misgivings about funding renovations for a hotel. "Obviously, this is a working hotel," Waring said. "And I understand that they're going through fiscal hard times, but we're not replacing other hotels' windows." Waring, who was not present during the subcommittee vote, said he has not made up his mind on how he will vote. Voters approved millions of dollars in bond funds for historic preservation as part of the 2006 bond election. The Arizona Biltmore, at the time, was not in a city-designated historic zone and couldn't qualify for assistance. That changed in 2009 when the city approved a historic overlay for the hotel -- a zoning designation that would enable the property to potentially qualify for taxpayer-funded historic-preservation funds. Last month, a consultant for the Arizona Biltmore wrote that the building needs more than $1.115 million to replace its inefficient, outdated windows and doors, according to a copy of the hotel's application for funds obtained by The Arizona Republic. Those plans include: • New windows and doors to replace steel windows and doors that are as old as the building and withstood a 1973 fire that was ignited as crews were installing a new sprinkler system. • Replacement and repair of damaged hardware. In the application, MSR Biltmore Resort LP and its consultants wrote that the window and door replacements would start this fall and be completed by summer 2013. Consultants have told city staff the project is expensive because crews will need a lot of scaffolding to access the upper-level hotel windows. In some spots, workers will have to remove steel and canvas awnings, and in others, they'll have to drill holes through the patio roof -- which is not original to the building -- to make room for the scaffolding. The Historic Preservation Commission voted to give $200,000 to the project at a meeting in May. City staff recommended awarding a grant but capped it at $200,000. The city currently has about $502,000 available for such preservation projects and is considering other structures that could qualify for a share of the funds, according to a city report. |