ENID, Okla. - The real estate closing process was finalized late Wednesday afternoon for the proposed downtown hotel. City of Enid leadership acknowledged this has been a long process, but were pleased today’s events took place.
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Mayor Bill Shewey said, “I am excited to learn today of the news regarding the closing for the downtown hotel. In the long run, the hotel will make a tremendous difference in our community. Securing a hotel for downtown Enid has been a six and a half year project. In my opinion, it’s the third leg of the three-legged stool which includes the remodeled Convention Hall, the Central National Bank Center and now the hotel. Once again I am proud to say, “it’s a great day in Enid, Oklahoma.”
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Brent Kisling. Executive Director. Enid Regional Development Alliance added, “Although this has been long process, we are very pleased with the final product that will be constructed downtown and the impact it will make for generations to come. Thank you to Dr. Atul Patel for your willingness to invest in Enid’s vibrant downtown and thank you to the City of Enid leadership for their diligence in seeing this project through to completion.”
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City Manager Jerald Gilbert said, “The closing today is a culmination of a team effort with a local developer, local financing and all with ties to our community. I sincerely appreciate everyone’s efforts and patience on this project.” Gilbert added, “the City just got an early Christmas present!”
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The developer will now have 45 days to begin construction. Brent Kisling, Executive Director of the Enid Regional Development Alliance, has said that Dr. Patel is ready to get fencing up and move dirt as soon they have a closing. He also said the ground moving equipment is already in town and ready to go.
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The Enid City Council approved a Master Development Agreement in February with Dr. Atul Patel and his development company, Aston Management, to construct and manage a Best Western “Glo” hotel in downtown Enid adjacent to the Central National Bank Center.
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Over the past several years, Best Western Hotels has changed its brand and customer base. According to their CEO David Kong, “We are very much a different company today and if we maintain our current logo or do minor tweaks, it wouldn’t do us justice. We want to signal something exciting and different.”
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As part of this change, Best Western unveiled two new premier floor plans to compete with Aloft, Hilton, and Marriott. Best Western’s mid-sized market hotel is called “Glo.” With the agreement approved, Enid, Oklahoma will have the first Best Western Glo hotel in the state and the first in this region of the United States.
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Enid Mayor Bill Shewey said, “Our efforts to work with private industry to construct a downtown hotel has been a long process, but we truly believe that partnering with Dr. Patel, a man who grew up in Enid, to construct one of the newest hotel looks in America, is very exciting. We look forward to seeing this project continue to progress so we can complete our efforts to drive more visitors to the heart of our community.”
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In November of 2016, Hilton denied the franchise application even though they had awarded it previously to Lodgewell and Peachtree. Hilton Garden Inn notified Brent Kisling that it has to maintain a minimum $20 a night higher room rate than another Hilton owned hotel in the same town. The Hampton, a Hilton hotel, is now in Enid and it would have to charge $145 to $150 a night, which is believed higher than what our market would support.
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Subsequently, Aston Management secured the Best Western Glo franchise as one of 50 such hotels in the country. The Best Western Glo is a mid-size market hotel and is part of the Best Western rebranding. Kisling did state that the facade of the new hotel would be brick.
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The agreed upon incentives in the agreement are transfer of the land, a two hundred thousand ($200,000.00) dollar grant to offset the cost of constructing the parking lot, and an annual forty percent (40%) room rate guarantee for five years. You can read the entire master agreement as well as deadlines online HERE. (begin at page 162)
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In July 2016, Mayor Bill Shewey said, “The development of the downtown hotel is a key piece of the Enid downtown renaissance project that compliments the Central National Bank Center." Many conventions and conferences look for venues that have an attached hotel to help with logistics and transportation.
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The City of Enid went through an RFP process in 2011 and selected Lodgewell as their original partner to develop the downtown hotel. The contract with Lodgewell was found in default by the City Council at the January 20, 2015 council meeting, their deadline to begin construction had been March 6, 2015.
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The City of Enid then began working with potential developers to assemble a package for the downtown hotel. They identified 12 firms who were interested in the project and started negotiations with all of them. They narrowed the field to three that had made face-to-face presentations to the Council in Executive Session.
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In August 2015, the Enid City Council voted to contract with Peachtree Hotel Group on the community’s downtown hotel project. That concluded a four month process of negotiating with potential developers from around the United States that were interested in the project.
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ERDA's Brent Kisling made the announcement that Enid had picked a developer for the downtown hotel. Projected construction on the Hilton Garden Inn was to begin in May 2016 and the hotel would open in August 2017. The incentive package included transfer of the land for the hotel for one dollar, ERDA would have provided a loan to Peachtree upon completion of construction and a sales tax reimbursement.
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In mid February 2016, the Peachtree Hotel Group delayed the timeline for the development of the Downtown Hilton Garden Inn. They were slated to begin construction in May of 2016, but decided to delay that timeline. According to the Peachtree Hotel Group based out of Atlanta, the delay was due to the economic downturn. Since the transfer was not completed by May 2016, the City of Enid had the option to terminate the contract with Peachtree.
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Downtown Hotel Takes Another Step Forward
