State denies grant for hotel

Local state reps exchange barbs over fate of downtown hotel

The fate of Frederick city’s plans for a downtown hotel conference center continues to hang in the balance as a third state agency denied the city’s application for funding.

Peter Samuel, Frederick-based journalist and de facto leader of a group opposing the project, broke the story on the denial of a city grant request on his website, FrederickHotelBoondoggle.us, on Jan. 18.

According to documents Samuel shared in his story, Boondoggle Hotel project stiffed by state DHCD, the Department of Housing and Community Development turned down the city’s latest application for $1 million in grant funding. The money was to be used to acquire land from the owners of the old Frederick News-Post building on East Patrick Street.

Frederick’s Economic Development Director Richard Griffin, who has spearheaded the effort for the city, did not return a call or email for this story.

Sen. Michael Hough (R-Dist. 4) said in an interview that Democrats would likely have to resort to “a backroom process” to get funding for the $84 million project in the state’s capital budget.

“Hogan didn’t move forward with money for the project. Medco, MSA, all said ‘no thanks’,” Hough said.

The public-private partnership project was reliant on state funding. The financing plan included $53 million from developer Plamondon Enterprises, Inc., $18 million from the state, $6 million from the county and $7 million from the city.

State Sen. Ronald Young (D-Dist. 3), Del. Karen Lewis Young (D-Dist. 3A), and Del. Carol Krimm (D-Dist. 3A) have assisted the city in procuring state funding for the project. Their efforts have been stymied by Republicans on the Frederick County delegation, led by Hough.

Hough said he has “philosophical problems” with plans for the 207-room, 23,500-ft hotel because the “government shouldn’t be in the business of building hotels.”

The Jefferson Tech Park is supposed to include a conference center, he said, and Randy Cohen, owner of the Holiday Inn on MD 85, has plans to build a Holiday Inn Conference Center in the county.

Del. Young said she sees “a bit of hypocrisy” in Hough’s comment that Democrats would resort to a “backroom process” to get hotel funding back in the capital budget. Hough strong arms fellow Republicans on the delegation to vote in lockstep with him, she said, and threatens to form slates to run against them if they waiver.

“But when we work in the best interests of the community, we’re accused of doing backroom deals,” she said.

#downtownhotel #Hough