Lake awaits $8.5 million hotel, convention center

by Marianne Gasaway

An $8.5 million large scale hotel-conference center is expected to be announced soon in Clear Lake.

City Administrator Scott Flory said a preliminary development agreement and letter of intent may be presented to the Clear Lake City Council as early as its next meeting, set for March 18.

“The developer is still fine tuning and working with the landowner, but hopefully there will be something to present at the next Council meeting,” said Flory.  “I’m optimistic.  The mayor and I have been involved in this project since last October and have met with representatives on the hotel several times.  It is a quality project and would be a real boon for Clear Lake.”

Flory said the property would be located in the city’s Northeast Urban Renewal Area, which encompasses a large area east of Interstate 35.It includes the North 32nd Street area on the north side of Highway 122 where the former Andrews Prestressed Concrete building once stood.

According to Flory, it has been about 23 years since a major hotel project has been built in Clear Lake.

“A space like this is what we’ve been missing right now to attract larger conferences.  This would be a destination retreat at the professional level,” said Flory, adding it could accommodate a group of 500.

The hotel portion of the project would have approximately 80 rooms, he said.