Plans were announced recently to build a $64 million dollar hotel on airport land. The hotel is to have 220 rooms and 80,000 square feet of retail space.
It is being touted as being of four star quality.
That’s good
Having 220 high quality rooms should be good for tax revenues, right?
Well actually the city gave the hotel developers tax breaks. Among them is that they will not have to pay hotel occupancy taxes for 11 years.
That’s bad
Hotel occupancy in El Paso is down. Now we have a situation where existing tax paying hotels will have to compete with a new hotel that has tax advantages. That could mean that up to 220 rooms a night will not be paying hotel occupancy taxes, the supposed prime source of funding for our ball park. According to an article in the El Paso Times:
It is to receive millions of dollars in city incentives, including property and sale tax rebates and won’t pay land lease fees for three years under a 40-year lease with the airport. The City Council approved the incentives and lease in May.
I don’t know why the Times article neglected to mention the hotel occupancy tax abatement. Most of us can probably guess.
Call me crazy but I don’t think that we should use local tax dollars to hurt local tax payers in favor of out of town interests.
Locally beneficial
Well there is one local company that is probably interested. The company that has assumed operations for our local contractor that is building the ball park expected to be hired as the building contractor according to the Times.
Bad plan
Airport traffic volumes have been declining for at least the last ten years. If the city wants to encourage an upscale hotel they should look at having one built at our nationally ranked municipal golf course.
It seems to me that making El Paso a golfing destination would offer us better economic hope than cannibalizing existing trade.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
What you say makes sense. Is there another view on this? I would like to hear about the utility of tax abatements in promoting economic growth in our city and the region. What are the poster children for benefits from letting tax avoiders skate while existing companies pay the way?
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On top of they, because the airport and city want their land back, the school district will loose it’s lease on the Boeing property and have to move to other quarters in the next few years as well. Another cost to taxpayers.
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I am a big fan of Brutus, but turning El Paso into a golfing destination might just be the most bone-headed idea the old dog’s ever come up with. So, my friends and I are sitting in Dallas planning my next golf vacation. Hhmm. Las Vegas or El Paso? Pebble Beach or El Paso? Phoenix of El Paso? Hilton Head or El Paso? Resort or municipal course? What are we going to do after 18 holes? Go to bed early? If our wives decide to to tag along, what are they going to do in El Paso; shop at a second-rate mall with lesser stores than I have at home? Someone spike Brutus’s water bowl.
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True. Maybe for retired military folks? Definitely not for those who would rather play The Boulders.
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meanwhile, local home foreclosure filings quadrupled in January. it’s all good.
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Tax abatements have to stop because they have become permanent and are a form of income redistribution from average taxpayers to investors, “trickle up” economics. Of course, elected reps love it because it rewards their largest contributors and they can report back that they have done their job!
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Welcome to the the 21st century plantation.
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I thought that was HACEP?
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Robbing Peter (us) to pay Paul (Foster). This passed council right after the city manager gave us glowing numbers on HOT projections. Made no sense then, and less sense now.
The best place to stop abatements is when they are on the city or county agenda. Got time to review the agenda each week? Got time to go speak before council or commissioners court? I may review the agenda but never have time to comment at meetings.
The best way for me to voice an opinion is to talk with my city or county rep — either in person or through email. Unfortunately, in the past when my city rep voted against my wishes, she/he said it was because more constituents were on the other side of the issue. Of course, there’s no way to confirm that.
El Paso could be a NASCAR destination. Lots of space for a track and pretty good weather. Lots of people follow NASCAR. But it has two strikes against it: 1) no room for a track downtown, 2) not popular with the beautiful people.
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