Planning Board recommends denial of Drury Plaza hotel subsidy request amid debate over hotel policy

The Omaha Planning Board on Monday recommended denial of an economic incentive request for a proposed Drury Plaza hotel near the ConAgra redevelopment site, citing the city's downtown hotel incentive policy.

Don Seten of the City Planning Department told the board the EEA/TIF Committee recommended denial because the project, as measured under STR metrics, does not qualify as the 'upper-upscale or luxury' hotel the policy targets. "The committee felt the proposed Drury Hotel did not meet the upper upscale nor luxury categories," Seten said.

Representatives for Drury argued the Plaza-branded product can be delivered at an upper-upscale level and offered written commitments to that effect. Brant Eller, speaking for the applicant, said Drury will build and operate a full-service hotel with 210 rooms, structured parking and amenities, and asked the board to recommend approval so the company could move forward. Mark Cole and Jared Barbee, Drury executives, described the brand's customer-satisfaction ratings and comparable urban Plaza projects.

Jasmine Goodwin of Visit Omaha told the board consultants and meeting planners view the city as seeking higher-tier convention and anchor hotels, and warned that adding a hotel classed by STR as 'upscale' rather than 'upper-upscale' could complicate the city's effort to attract larger conventions during a period of major convention-district investment.

Jennifer Taylor of the City Law Department and planning staff emphasized that the policy as written uses STR metrics (average daily rate) to classify hotels and that, by the letter of the policy, the Drury submission did not qualify. Taylor said exceptions exist for uniquely positioned or historic projects, but those did not apply here.

After extended questioning and debate, board members moved to recommend denial of the TIF redevelopment plan; the motion passed 4–1.

Next steps: the Planning Board's recommendation will be transmitted to City Council, which makes final decisions on TIF/EEA awards. Drury may still present the same package to council or revise its proposal.