Clear Lake council to consider feasibility study on placing hotel in Surf District

CLEAR LAKE — The Clear Lake City Council tonight will consider funding a feasibility report as part of a proposal to place a hotel in the Surf District.

City Administrator Scott Flory in a memo to the council says the city has had conversations with the owners of the Surf Ballroom and the North Iowa Cultural Center & Museum, the group that oversees the facility’s operations, about a potential redevelopment project within the Surf District that would include a boutique-style hotel with the city applying for a grant as part of the Iowa Department of Economic Development’s new “Destination Iowa” program. Destination Iowa is a $100 million project funded by American Rescue Plan Act money that provides grants for transformational, shovel-ready attractions.

Flory says a critical component of the grant application would be a hotel feasibility report. He says the city has solicited a proposal from Patek Hospitality Consultants of Sussex Wisconsin to perform the study. Patek previously completed a study that culminated in the development of the $13 million Marriott Fairfield hotel near Interstate 35. The council is being asked to approve $10,000 for the feasibility report, which would be completed within 60 days.

The Clear Lake City Council meets tonight at 6 o’clock at City Hall.