The long-debated Edgewater Hotel project could be dead following a Common Council vote Tuesday, in which Mayor Paul Soglin cast a decisive non-vote.
After hours of testimony and questioning, Madison’s Common Council approved Soglin’s 2012 Capital Budget, with $3.3 million of tax incremental funding allotted to fund the Edgewater Hotel project.
The Capital Budget originally allotted the Edgewater $16 million in TIFs, the city’s funding consisting of citizens’ tax dollars, until Soglin slashed the project’s allocation down to $3.3 million in September.
A vote to restore that funding to $16 million came down to a 10-10 tie. Needing 11 council members in favor to pass, Soglin's non-vote denied the funding increase.
“This is a travesty for the Langdon Street neighborhood,” Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, said. “This neighborhood absolutely needed development.”
Edgewater developer Robert Dunn said the fate of the Edgewater remains unknown, but there is no way the project can shoulder the redevelopment funds and the hotel remain economically solvent without the $16 million TIF.
“I am going to work to see if there is anything else that can be done to try to make this happen, and we will move forward accordingly,” Maniaci said.
Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said the city set a poor precedent by overturning years of planning by the previous City Council.
Resnick said although the rejected TIF funds will not “scare business away,” it could make it difficult for the city to do business in terms of large-scale investments.
“I really hope moving forward the mayor, the Common Council and business leaders will be able to enter into a process to create a better place to conduct business and encourage growth,” Resnick said.
Those who opposed the extra funding in both public testimony and official deliberation raised concerns such as whether the Edgewater was worth $16 million while the city could use that funding for other projects, such as schools and other public spaces.
“There’s obviously a lack of available public space, but for $16 million you have to ask what could you do in another area,” Ald. Larry Palm, District 15, said
“This should be a destination, a landmark of our city,” Dunn said. “If we’re not going to do what we ventured together to do, the future is not very bright.”
UPDATED Nov. 16: The first sentence of this article has been updated to correct an error. Mayor Paul Soglin did not vote to deny the project $16 million in funding. Instead, he decided not to break a tie in a vote that would have alloted the project the $16 million.
