By Shawn Balthrop Missourian staff writer

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Columbians discuss pros, cons

the Flat Branch Information

public referendum. How much it will cost, who will benefit and whether it is feasible all are questions at issue. The Columbia Missourian invited a spokes- - ' man for each side to present the arguments in an effort to add some light to the heat of debate. Real estate consultant A. J. McRoberts has a long history of opposing urban renewal projects. He was a moving force behind the defeat of the 1963 Midtown Redevelopment Project, and is working for the defeat of this project as
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and misinformation about project fill the air as supporters and opponents prepare for a

Mark Landrum, vice chairman of the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority and president of First National Bank, is one of the foremost proponents of the project. Here, issue by issue, are their views: Is the proposed hotel economically feasible? The proposed building of a downtown hotel in the Flat Branch area forms the cornerstone of McRoberts claim that the project is not economically feasible. The occupancy figures projected in the Zuchelli, Hunter and Associates Inc. report are misleading, he says, and the city stands to lose a lot of money u those figures are incorrect. The Zuchelli report projects a 70 percent rate of occupancy for the new downtown hotel in its first year. This projection, McRoberts says, is too high. He draws a parallel with a similar project in Paducah, Ky., where a group of businessmen" planned a convention and hotel development on a site downtown. After committing $500,000 in private funds to the project, acquiring a loan commitment for $4.5 million, and obtaining $5.9 million in federal and state grants, the group attracted a major hotel builder, Executive Inns Inc. of Owensboro,
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McRoberts says the rate of occupancy is important to the city, however. In order to attract a major hotel developer, he says, the city will have to underwrite or guarantee the loan for the hotel's construction. That is one reason, he says, why the city should stay out of the Flat Branch redevelopment. "I don't think the city should get involved in it," he says. "If they do, what if the hotel goes broke and the city has guaranteed the loan?" The city would lose a lot of money in such an instance, McRoberts says, money which would come from the taxpayers' pockets. Landrum, however, says the city would have no involvement in the building of a hotel. The hotel developer would negotiate a loan without the city's assistance or intervention, he says, just like any other commercial institution. "The city would not underwrite the loan," he says. "The city has absolutely no risk or in-- volvement with that loan." Is Columbia a convention city? McRoberts also takes issue with the building of a convention center in the downtown area. Columbia, he says, is just not a convention

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The competing motels and hotels in Paducah have an average occupancy rate of 67 percent. The projected rate of occupancy for the new Paducah hotel is 57 percent for the first year, reaching 70 percent in the third year. McRoberts says Columbia hotels have an average rate of occupancy of 55 to SO percent, lower than that of Paducah. How then, he asks, can the city expect a higher rate of occupancy in the new hotel's first year? Landrum disagrees. "I would expect the 70 percent occupancy rate to be an extremely conservative estimate," he says. Landrum says that as president of a bank he has several business dealings with some of the larger hotels and motels in town. The average rate of occupancy for these motels, which are similar in nature to the proposed hotel, is about 70 to GO percent, he says. He expects the proposed motel to do at leastas well because of better service and competitive rates' "The point is that it really doesn't matter what the proportions are," Landrum says. If the project attracts a large hotel developer, he says, it will be up to the developer to figure rate of occupancy and feasibility. If a hotel de--I veloper is not attracted, the land simply will

are not equipped as a convention town," he says. "We have nothing to offer ' them after they leave the convention center a few restaurants, a few bars." Landrum, however, says conventions are "a substantial industry that is untapped." Columbia's position in the center of the state and the overall attractiveness of the community make it an ideal convention site, Landrum says. "There is no better place in central Missouri, really in all the United States, for conventions than Columbia." How much will the project really cost? McRoberts says too many unknowns exist within the project itself. One big unknown, he says, is how much the project will cost. "They have projected some costs. However, they don't really know," he says. For instance, the city does not really know the costs of acquiring the land, or whether a buyer can be found once it has been purchased, or even what the property will be used for, he says. What McRoberts sees as unknown areas, however, Landrum sees as flexibriity. If the costs of acquiring all the land are. too high, the And if the project will simply be city cannot attract a hotel developer, the city will find another use for the land, he says. How much tax money will be involved? McRoberts argues that no one knows just how much of the projected $33 million total cost will come from the taxpayer's pocket. McRoberts says pan of the money probably will comeirom a property tax increase. He points out that City Manager Stuart Campbell asked for a increase in the city property tax rate last September. Why would Campbell ask for an increase, McRoberts says, unless he thought the money would be needed for the Flat Branch project? Landrum counters that the City Councd already has5 voted down that tax increase'. According to Landrum, the project will involve $2,012,000 in city funds over a period of three years, assuming that the entire project is completed and that no federal "pocket of poverty" funds are available. This money, he says, will come from existing sources in the
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Mart"K7 Flat Branch proponent Mark Landrum ""

Flat Branch opponent A. J. McRoberts

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city, with no tax increase involved. In fact, he says, the project probably will increase property tax revenues in itself by increasing the property values in the area. - Is the time right for such a project? McRoberts says the current economic situation is just not right for a project of this magnitude. Interest rales are the highest they have ever been. The high interest rates in turn have led to a general drop in development and building because of a shortage of available money. Another problem the project would face is inflation, which he says would drive up the cost of the project considerably during the time it took to complete. Landrum responds that the health and of the downtown area demand that the city begin planning the project now. "This is absolutely the best tune for the project," he says. "The- downtown is being threatened by the intrusion of a regional mall," Landrum notes. Already Sears is planning to move out, he says, and other businesses will either move or deteriorate unless something is done to keep the downtown area alive. For that reason, Landrum says, it is imperative that the city act now to implement the Flat Branch Project. He says the addition of first-clahousing in the downtown area along with the hotel and convention center will be an
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important stabilizing element there. "In order to provide the kind of service we have to have for the colleges' success, we've got to do it now concurrently with the regional The current energy problem is another reason for going ahead with the project now. With gasoline costs rising every day, Landrum says, it makes sense to have first-clahousing in the downtown area where people will be able to walk to work. Financing the project will not cause any problems, Landrum says. While money maybe tight and interest rates high right now, he says, predictions for two years from now, when much of the financing will be needed, say that interest rates will be down. In addition, he says, his bank and others have pledged to give housing projects in the Flat Branch area high priority in funding. Should government be doing this kind of thing? Along with his other objections, McRoberts says he is opposed to the project for philosophical reasons. "I am absolutely, unequivocally and philosophically opposed to urban renewal," McRoberts says. "I think it is an undue intrusion on the property rights of people." He is quick to point out that the hotel and convention center in Paducah originated with private developers. He says that if the Flat
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Branch area really were in need of clearing and redevelopment, private interests would seize the opportunity when the timing is right. He also notes that the Paducah project was conducted on a much smaller scale, and that only one business displaced by the project was a going concern. In addition, he says, the land was bought at market value without resorting to condemnation, a fact that contributed largely to public support for the project. If the problem is urban blight, he says, that can be remedied by enforcing the existing zoning laws, or possibly providing matching funds for the renovation of existing buildings. Landrum says there are really no grounds for philosophical dispute. There is no difference, he says, between this project and the provision of streets or other services. He says no private developer could carry out the project. Landrum says a large part of the Flat Branch area is in a flood plain, unfit for any kind of development. Under the project plans, Flat Branch would be rechanneled, freeing up more land for development. Tliis, he says, is something no private developer would be able or willing to do. As for moving existing businesses, Landrum says the current condemnation law "bends over backward" to provide for business relocation.

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