PORT ANGELES — The city will await formal written notice from developer Randal Jay Ehm that he’s withdrawing from his conference center project before analyzing other options, City Manager Mike Quinn said Monday.
And one of the plaintiffs who sued to stop Ehm’s project in 2002 vowed that any future hotel development would face similar legal challenges.
Ehm surprised the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce luncheon audience Monday by declaring that he was withdrawing his conference center and hotel project and leaving Port Angeles.
He had proposed a full-service Marriott hotel with 171 rooms and enough conference and banquet space for 700 people on 3.8 waterfront acres at the corner of Oak and Front streets.
The city offered Ehm a 20-year, $100,000 annual subsidy from hotel-motel bed tax revenues to pay for marketing the conference center.
Other developers
Lodging Tax Advisory Committee chairwoman Karen Rogers said Monday afternoon that the panel has nothing more to discuss until Ehm’s formal withdrawal notice was received, then moved on to other business.
“It’s unfortunate and disappointing,” she said.