What happens next for Loews hotel project?
In 2019, when people traveled and flew in airplanes without fear of infection, Loews Corporation signed a deal with the city of Memphis to build a skyscraper hotel on Civic Center Plaza that would help serve the renovated Renasant Convention Center.
Under that deal, the New York-based luxury hotel chain was supposed to present the city of Memphis with plans for how the hotel would be financed by Dec. 31, 2020. That deadline is going to come and go. The $240 million project continues to look for $100-plus million in financing amid a pandemic that has turned the convention and tourism industry on its head.
The terms of the development agreement would allow the city of Memphis to back out of the deal. That’s not going to happen.
Throughout the past few weeks and months, the city and Loews have had a dialogue about extending the agreement. And the parties have agreed to a 45-day period to work out the terms of that extension, city of Memphis chief operating officer Doug Mcgowen said Wednesday.
“The city of Memphis has received a request from Loews Corporation for an
extension to the development agreement because of the impact of COVID-19 on the project,” Mcgowen said. “Loews, the Downtown Memphis Commission and the city all agree that, for the next 45 days, we will review that extension request so we can come to an agreement on terms.”
While Loews has worked to get financing, another large convention-focused competitor has appeared in Downtown. Carlisle Corp. plans to build a 300-room Grand Hyatt as part of its One Beale development in the south part of Downtown. That project secured
Memphis City Council approval for tax incentives in early December.
The convention center is nearly finished and, before a recent Safer at Home order, there were plans for an amateur volleyball tournament at the convention center. If that event goes forward as planned remains to be seen. If the U.S. reaches herd immunity through vaccination by mid-2021, it’s possible convention activity could begin to recover and creep toward normal.
The city’s work on Loews and the convention center has always been a longer-term bet — a move aimed at ex
panding Memphis’ reach and attracting bigger conventions.
If the Loews project goes forward as planned and the Grand Hyatt is built, the city would have added hundreds of rooms to offer convention center guests and, by 2024, the year Loews has to be placed into service to use certain tax incentives, the convention world could be back to normal.
Samuel Hardiman covers Memphis city government and politics. He can be reached by email at samuel.hardiman@ commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter at @samhardiman.