Clear Lake council approves development agreement for hotel, conference center in Courtway Park

CLEAR LAKE — The Clear Lake City Council last night approved a development agreement with JSM Investments of metro Des Moines for a hotel and conference center project to be placed in the Courtway Park subdivision northeast of the intersection of Interstate 35 and State Highway 122.

The project calls for an 85-room Marriott-brand hotel with a conference and event center with space for about 450 people. As part of the development agreement, JSM agrees to enter into a minimum assessment agreement with the city fixing the minimum actual value of the property and the completed improvements to be made on the property at not less than $5 million. The agreement provides for certain property tax incentives for JSM in the form of annual appropriation, incremental property tax payments in a total amount not exceeding $1.5 million.

Councilman Mike Callanan says he’s excited to see this move forward.  “I think once again it’s going to be ‘if you build it, they will come’, and it’s going to prompt all kinds of economic development in our area.”

Councilman Bennett Smith says the hotel and conference center will be a fantastic addition to the community.   “Frankly I think it’s vital for us as a city to support this kind of economic development that really fits well with what we do here in Clear Lake with tourism and our competitive advantages with that, particularly in the midst of this economic recession to have this kind of opportunity I think is fantastic. I also agree that the success of this project will catalyze further economic development out there, and I think that will be very exciting for us.”

The hotel’s scheduled completion date is June 30th of next year.