Report from Meeting with Developer Bob Holland - Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Developer Bob Holland met with over 50 Mt. Rainier residents Tuesday evening at the H&F Fine Arts Gallery in the Artspace building. Valerie Theberge, an artist living in Mt. Rainier, moderated the session.





Holland spoke for about twenty minutes discussing his thirty-five years as a developer. He told the audience that he had worked in communities like ours and had helped revitalize some of those areas. He discussed his work in Georgetown, DuPont circle, South Beach, FL and Lawrence, MA. There is more information on his web site: www.homeplacedeveloper.com.



Holland than made the following points:



He has sales contracts on all three properties (Bass Liquor, Thrifty Car Rental, former funeral home on corner of Eastern and Rhode Island)
He did not know about the town’s request for development proposals when it was sent out late last year.
He doesn’t feel he can build a condominium on that block because the condo. market is dead for now and you can’t get financing for that kind of project
He is planning on investing over $26 million in the project
He has lined up financing.




His plans include building a hotel on that block. He made the following remarks regarding the hotel:



He can get a New Market Tax Credit that can only be used with a commercial property (such as a hotel). He needs the tax credit in order to successfully finance the project.
He plans to build a small 80-100 room hotel which moderately priced rooms ($100-$150)
He will maintain a controlling interest in the management of the hotel and in fact most hold on to the properties (if he gets the tax credits) for at least seven years.
There will be a parking structure for 100-120 cars.
He felt a hotel could be successful because:
The DC area is 20,000 rooms short in hotels
New downtown hotels spend so much on purchasing property, that they have to charge high rates for rooms ($300-$400). He can charge less because the property purchase is less.
He plans a green building using geo-thermal material
He also has plans to have 8-10 stores and a Café Artiste and has recruited a top area chef to run the restaurant
He will be providing a shuttle service for customers to go downtown and to the metro.
He plans to have an additional 100 units of housing (1-2 bedrooms) that would start as rental units (because of the problem with the condo market) but later be sold off as condominium units
He feels a hotel is critical for a vibrant retail area in downtown Mt. Rainier because there isn’t enough population density to support a stable retail area without drawing people from elsewhere.




On working with the town and the town’s chosen developer, Landmark Atlantic:



He doesn’t think any lender will agree to a contract in which the town has veto power over the development project (part of the current agreement with Landmark)
He has tried to reach out to the head of Landmark Atlantic (Scott Herrick) but he has not returned his calls.


Holland discussed his relationship with the Bass family. He is a neighbor of Kerry Bedard (one of the Bass family members) and she introduced him to Mt. Rainier. She is also the broker on his real estate transactions for the properties. He said that neither she nor anybody in the Bass family would have any involvement in the project as it moves forward.



There was a lively discussion with lots of questions and comments that lasted over an hour.



A few people expressed their continued skepticism as to whether a hotel would really work in the downtown area. Holland believes it will work and will help revitalize downtown Mt. Rainier. He felt that a hotel would bring money to support our commercial area and that it was the only way to successfully eliminate the public drunkenness, drug abuse and prostitution in downtown Mt. Rainier. Some people agreed with Holland while others were not convinced.



Holland did say that a hotel, at this time, was critical to the financing of any development project in downtown Mt. Rainier. It would take years before there would be financing available for a condominium project.



People asked whether it would be better to have a hotel closer to a metro. Holland responded that he thought Rhode Island Ave. was becoming an attractive gateway into DC, and that it was a short ride downtown.



I thought it was a good meeting and we learned about Mr. Holland’s plans to develop the 3200 Block of Rhode Island Ave. Holland says he plans to move forward on his plans and hopes to meet again with the community and the City Council.





These are my comments and observations. I am trying to be factual if not completely objective. I had never met Holland before but felt he made an honest presentation and that he made a lot of good points throughout the evening. However you feel about the project, it is important that everybody understands and participates in the discussion about development in downtown Mt. Rainier.