The Bryan city council approves participating in an expansion of the westside Lake Walk district.
The council, acting as the Bryan commerce and development board (BCD), will spend 80 percent and lend the developer a portion of the remaining 20 percent of the nearly $5 million dollar cost of required infrastructure for an office building and restaurant space near the Stella hotel.
Background information from the city says the expansion will generate $20 million dollars in land sales revenue. Sales and property tax revenue from an office building and entertainment venue is projected to eventually generate more than $26 million dollars a year. And the future construction of multi-family housing and commercial uses is projected to generate an additional $80 million dollars.
Click HERE to read and download images of the Lake Walk expansion, provided by the city of Bryan.
The council also approved an economic development agreement for the construction of a 200 space parking garage. A spokesman for the garage says the city is putting no money into the garage.
A separate item involving the Stella hotel was approved by the council on Tuesday, giving the hotel owner an 11th year to continue collecting hotel occupancy tax money. The timing comes as December 31st marks the end of a ten year agreement where the Stella could keep up to $2.25 million dollars. Due to reduced occupancy during the pandemic, the Stella is short $300,000 dollars. City staff recommended the additional year because the hotel owner has been operating successfully since the pandemic.