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Cornerstone Hotel Project Plan Runs Into Massive Roadblocks

Proposed hotel in Coral Springs at Cornerstone.

By Bryan Boggiano

The community redevelopment agency (CRA) approved an amended development agreement with La Boca Partners for the Cornerstone development at the October 12 special meeting.

The meeting followed an October 4 discussion, where officials revealed La Boca Partners breached the development agreement by failing to secure financing for the planned Hyatt Place hotel on Cornerstone’s South Block.

At the original meeting, developers said they sold the land the proposed hotel would be on to Adelon Capital. Developers stated that Adelon would not build the hotel and leave the land vacant.

The CRA ultimately directed negotiations between their staff and representatives for La Boca to negotiate a new contract.

According to the development agreement, La Boca, a subsidiary of Predesco, is trying to buy back the land to develop the hotel, which is supposed to break ground by November 30.

To build the hotel, La Boca needs collateral to secure the proper loans for development. Developers state the situation is also complicated by market conditions, which are generally hostile to ground-up hotel projects.

La Boca can get additional collateral through increased tax increment financing (TIF) figures and if the TIF for the completed Mill Creek property on the South Block were released.

Currently, that TIF value is at 75 percent. Under the new agreement, TIF for the North Block, which broke ground Tuesday, and the hotel are capped at 50 percent.

Representatives with the law firm Dunay, Miskel and Backman, representing La Boca, discussed the new agreement and listened to the CRA’s concerns.

But, there was disagreement within the CRA board on when and how to release TIF to the developers.

Proposals included releasing TIF when each of the respective Cornerstone projects (Mill Creek North, Mill Creek South, and the Hyatt) were complete, had certificates of occupation, and were on the tax rolls. Another option was grouping the Hyatt and Mill Creek North together while treating the completed South Block as its own entity.

Representatives stated that grouping the Cornerstone components together would not give the developers the necessary collateral to build the hotel.

Developers would not receive TIF for that property if the hotel component were not complete by December 31, 2025.

The final iteration of the agreement ultimately called for all three components to be treated separately.

The new agreement also gives the CRA board the right of first refusal, stating they may repurchase the property if developers sell to somebody else.

Another controversy with the new agreement dealt with the hotel itself.

Originally, plans called for a 144-room Hyatt Place. Now, the agreement calls for that hotel or an equivalent star-level hotel as determined by the AAA Diamond Travel Rating, Forbes Travel Star Guide Rating, and Michelin Guide Star Rating.

According to attorney Matthew Scott, this allows other options for development and for the project to be more successful.

“We’re literally here begging, begging you to modify [the agreement] so we can give the hotel the best chance of being constructed,” he said.

But not everybody on the board saw it that way.

Vice Chair Lorna Brown-Burton said, “How do we know that there will even be a hotel built?”

The board expressed major concerns with the revised deal, stating that although it was not perfect, it was necessary to approve.

“As a business person, I’m looking at what our options are,” said Chair Andrew Kasten.

Other members cautioned against letting the land at Cornerstone remain vacant, especially since no other developers are currently eyeing it.

Despite their reservations, the board passed the revised agreement. But just as they had their concerns, so did residents.

“I’m not as satisfied as I thought I’d be at this point,” said resident and former mayor Roy Gold. “I don’t know if the original leaders would recognize what’s coming to our downtown.”

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