FLAGSTAFF — The UA will build a hotel and conference center on Tucson's Southeast Side at its Science and Technology Park under a proposal approved Friday by regents.
The 123-room hotel, which UA leaders say is crucial to the development of the technology park, will include a 7,400-square-foot conference center and cost roughly $23 million to build.
Officials said it will be the only hotel within seven miles of the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park and will allow companies there to use much-needed conference rooms and lodging.
A non-profit company will be created by the UA, University Hotel Corp., to manage the overall project, with Legacy Hospitality LLC of Nevada operating the hotel.
Legacy manages hotels worldwide, including several Hilton Garden Inns and Holiday Inns, says its Web site.
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But even as UA officials touted the potential profit the hotel could bring, one regent voted against the proposal over concerns the bonds used to finance the project would hurt the university in the long run.
Regent Anne Mariucci opposed the project and the bonds because she said it counts against the UA's debt finance ratio established by the state. The project might not be necessary at this time, she added.
"Can we afford to do something with that precious capacity of our debt ceilings?" Mariucci asked. "I think it calls again into question the strategic feasibility of the project and what this hotel is doing for us."
However, UA officials said whether the debt actually counts against the UA's bottom line is an open question.
The project is being managed by a corporation, and the tech park has authority to finance projects independent of the UA. Therefore, it's the university's position the project doesn't count against its debt, said Bruce Wright, associate vice president for economic development.
Wright also argued that the hotel would not be used just by the companies in the tech park but also by visitors to Southeast Side neighborhoods.
"It's the fastest-growing region in that area," he said. "This will be a really important community asset."
Construction on the project would begin in June with an anticipated opening in September 2010.
In its first year, the hotel would charge an average rate of $119 per night with a projected occupancy rate of close to 70 percent, the regents were told.
UA President Robert Shelton said the hotel will be a welcome addition. "Having a hotel and conference center at the park will be essential to further development there," he said. "We believe that this project will not only be viable but will enhance revenues at the UA."
UA to get $11M to build Japanese telescope mirror
In other news from the Board of Regents meeting:
● The University of Arizona will get $11 million to build a 6.5-meter mirror for a University of Tokyo telescope under an agreement approved by the regents this week.
The mirror, to be built by the UA's Steward Observatory, will make up the primary mirror for the Japanese university's planned telescope at the Tokyo Atacama Observatory in Chile.
The UA will receive $2.5 million this year, with a total of $11 million coming to the school through 2013 under terms of a contract approved by the regents.
The mirror to be built by the UA is similar to other mirrors it has cast in the past, including two 6.5-meter borosilicate mirrors used in the Multiple Mirror Telescope on Mount Hopkins in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson.
Parking garage OK'd
● The regents also approved a UA plan Friday to build a $30 million parking garage on campus.
The garage, to be located at what is now a parking lot on North Warren Avenue near East Speedway, would hold 1,000 to 1,500 parking spots.
The plan calls for the UA to use $30 million in bonds to construct the garage.
The building might include retail or auxiliary space on the first floor, said Bob Smith, the UA's assistant vice president for facilities design and construction.
With the planning for the garage in early stages — construction won't begin until July at the earliest — Smith said the overall cost of the project might go down.
The garage is part of a three-year construction-project plan that includes $49.3 million in building-renewal requests.
