The Drury development scored a big win last week for its 210-room, 8-story Drury Plaza hotel project at 10th & Harney Street.
The Omaha City Council designated the project site as an Enhanced Employment Area (EEA), authorizing the hotel operator to collect a general business occupation tax which will go towards paying for public improvements within the project. The developer requested up to $7.5 million in their EEA application to help finance the $54 million project.
The approval was an about-face by the city, as both the EEA committee and the planning board had recommended denial of the application. The planning board also denied the developer’s previous Tax Increment Financing (TIF) application.
The primary basis for the denials was a 2018 downtown hotel policy that the city should approve incentives only for upper-upscale and luxury hotels, per the STR hotel rating system. According to that rating system, the Drury falls under upper-midscale.
Drury’s attorney presented evidence that the policy was merely a non-binding advisory adopted by the TIF committee and never reviewed by the city council. Based on that argument, as well as commitments from the developer to include upper-upscale amenities and finishes, the city council unanimously approved the resolution.
The hotel will be served by an attached and underground parking garage with 160 parking spaces. A restaurant, which will be run by a third party, and bar will be open to the public, while a breakfast area will be available for hotel guests only. When completed, the developer anticipates creation of 65 new permanent jobs to service the hotel.