By Megan V. Williams
Wilmington, NC – At least three development companies are vying to build a hotel at Wilmington's convention center.
City officials had three bids in hand when the request for proposals closed at 5pm Monday. But the project's manager, Steve Bridges, says the city might consider any proposals that came in later in the night.
Bridges says he believes two of the bidding companies are local and none have submitted proposals before. Bridges did not know the details of any of the proposals, including whether they contain the roughly million-dollar guarantee money Wilmington is requiring.
The team evaluating hotel proposals will meet later this week to review the new bids. Bridges says his group will try to move quickly to present a recommendation to the city manager.
Securing a hotel for its convention center has turned into quite a headache for the city since developer Armada Hoffler first proposed downgrading the scale of its hotel, and then backed out of the arrangement entirely.
Two ensuing bidders, Wilmington Riverfront LLC and John Q. Hammons Hotel and Resorts, balked at pledging the million dollar cancellation fee to the city.