PORT ANGELES — The proposed Marriott hotel and conference center project could miss its Sept. 4 ground-breaking deadline.
But the state Department of Ecology-imposed deadline could be extended, developer Randal Jay Ehm told the city Lodging Tax Advisory Committee on Monday.
Earlier Monday, Ehm also briefly addressed the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce at its noon luncheon at the CrabHouse Restaurant.
The conference center and hotel project has everything except the building permit and the financing, Ehm told the tax advisory committee.
“I know the frustration that has been expressed about the project’s progress and meeting the Sept. 4 deadline, he said.
Ehm said he still intends to break ground by Sept. 4, which is when his shoreline development permit from the state Department of Ecology expires.
If he can get private financing for the project, he can make that deadline, Ehm said.
But if he must use additional public financing, he won’t, he said.
He has already been pledged $100,000 annually in city lodging tax receipts for 20 years to help with the marketing of the conference center.
Ecology might extend the construction deadline, Ehm said, although he hasn’t explored how long that extension might be.
Project letter expected
Ehm said he will submit a project activity letter to City Economic Development Director Tim Smith on June 15, then give his next regular project update to the lodging committee and Chamber of Commerce on July 15.
He will schedule another trip to Port Angeles in late July if an extension of his substantial development permit is necessary, Ehm said.
The president of Ehm Architecture of San Diego has proposed a four-story hotel and conference center under the Marriott brand on 3.8 waterfront acres at the corner of Front and Oak streets.
The original project cost of $17.5 million could increase due to rising steel costs and interest rates, Ehm said.
The conference center capacity has been reduced from 1,000 people to 700 so that the original total of 165 hotel rooms can be increased, he said.
Ehm said anticipates having firm project costs in the June 15 report.
“It sounds like the June report will be the day of reckoning,” City Councilwoman Karen Rogers said.