Hawthorne Press Tribune Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - September 1, 2016 Hawthorne High Falls in Season Opener The Hawthorne Cougars opened the 2016 football season with a 34-21 loss to La Canada last Friday at home. The Cougars will look to rebound from the defeat today when they host Rivera at 7 p.m. Team captains pictured from left to right: No. 75 Angel Orozco, No. 8 Khristian Cooley, No. 6 Carlos Jacobo and No. 5 Marte Mapu. Photo by Eric Ramos City Council Unanimously Approves City Hall Hotel Development Project By Derrick Deane In a unanimous vote at a special meeting on Tuesday, Hawthorne’s City Council voted to move forward with their plans to develop two hotels across the street from City Hall. The plan, which has been up for discussion and comment among residents, would involve the construction and operation of an approximately 300 room hotel under a dual franchise of Marriott Courtyard and TownePlace Suites. The development would also include a 4,000 square foot restaurant, a pool with a barbecue area and other hotel amenities. “Congratulations to the city of Hawthorne,” Mayor Alex Vargas said after the unanimous vote had been recorded. “The city employees, the residents, we’re all going to benefit from this. Today is a good day.” While the City Council was excited to move forward with the project, several residents addressed their opposition to the project before the vote. “The building site is wrong, the orientation of the building is going to be wrong, the amenities are wrong, missing and bad,” resident Lynn Vaughn said. “They’re hedging their bets. They don’t like it. They want to make sure they don’t lose money. They’re betting against it and they want you to pay for it.” City Manager Arnie Shadbehr repeatedly stated that there was no risk to the city in pursuing the project. “My first problem with this whole development was that it wasn’t open to any type of idea,” Amie Shepard said. “I’ve been in real estate for a long time and the best value you’re going to get for the lot is putting it on the open market, not restricting the useage. I’m not even sure what kind of legalities that opens up for other developers who pour into the city and are [angry] that they didn’t get a chance to bid on the property.” “I agree with that if we’re going to sell a piece of our history, our land, let’s sell it for the most money possible,” Shepard continued. “The main incentive that I keep hearing about this project is the hotel tax, but when I look at this finance agenda authority bill, it says we’re projected at $2 million annually, but we deposit the first $2.5 million into a TOT (Transient Occupancy Tax) escrow account reserve fund which may be used by the hotel developer to draw upon.” The reserve fund is slated to stay in effect for 40 years and must be replenished to $2.5 million if any of the money is used. “At the end of 40 years, what’s the incentive for the hotel to profit?” Shepard asked. “If they don’t hit this 9 percent return on investment, they just get $2.5 million back every single year. Over the course of 40 years that’s something like $100 million.” The projected revenue to the city from the TOT is estimated at $114 million over 40 years. “In doing the math, that’s $350,000 a year that the city gets for 40 years if this project fails,” Shepard said. “I don’t understand how we sell city land and make less money than what the billboard [on Hawthorne Blvd.] makes each year.” Not all residents were against the hotel project. “I’m in favor of this project because if we sit down and do nothing, nothing would be done for many years to come,” resident Alex Monteiro said. “Hawthorne would be like a train that never leaves the station.” Monteiro and residents who were in favor of the project consistently pointed to the city’s need to generate revenue. “Arnie has done his best over and over again to save this city, financially,” Monteiro said echoing other residents’ praise for the city manager. “I have trust in Arnie that he’s not doing this for his own benefit, but he’s doing it for the city of Hawthorne, its employees and residents.” Mogul Capital is the development company that will move forward with the hotel construction and later its operation. The project is slated for a 2018-2019 opening. “We see what good development can trigger and we hope that this can be a good project for the city,” Mogul Capital’s Brad Wagstaff said in referencing that his hopes that the hotel development will spur renovation and an eventual re-opening of the Hawthorne Mall. Wagstaff clarified that there is no funding coming for the city’s general fund and “the only thing that is at risk is the TOT that we’re generating from our project. I’m literally putting my money where my mouth is. I believe in this project and we’re willing to write a check to make this successful.” The construction of the hotel will cost $67 million, a figure that Mogul Capital reached by having three general contractors price the development. “It’s also very comparable cost-per-squarefeet to what we’re building two miles down the street,” Wagstaff said of a Homewood Suites by Hilton. Shadbehr added that the $67 million price tag is not fixed, but if costs were to overrun for that amount for any reason, the city would not be on the hook. There is however a provi - sion where if more than 300 rooms are built, an additional cost percentage is added to the capped price. All in all, the City Council remained enthusiastic about the development project as did a handful of residents. “We have to keep faith that things will get better,” Monteiro said. “We have an opportunity to show Hawthorne, and if these two hotels come in, it’s a beginning because we need to develop the city.” • Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................9 Classifieds............................3 Entertainment......................7 Finance..................................5 Hawthorne Happenings....3 Legals......................4,8,10-11 Looking Up...........................9 Pets......................................12 Police Reports.....................3 Seniors..................................6 Sports....................................5 Weekend Forecast Friday Sunny 74˚/65˚ Saturday Partly Cloudy 74˚/63˚ Sunday AM Clouds/ PM Sun 72˚/62˚ The Weekly Newspaper of Hawthorne
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