The Wayne County Industrial Development Agency has given the green light for $1.57 million in incentives for a hotel being constructed on Route 31 in Macedon.
A new 31,509-square-foot, three-story hotel with 71 rooms under the Microtel Inn and Suites banner by Wyndham is being constructed not far from the Monroe County line.
It’s not typical to see incentive packages given after construction begins, but Brian Pincelli, Wayne County’s director of economic development and planning said the approval process started several months ago.
“The developer has been working at the risk of not being approved for benefits,” he told the Finger Lakes Times.
Jett and Hasit Mehta of Indus Hospitality Group will receive a 10-year PILOT agreement worth $1.2 million, mortgage tax savings of $61,000, and sales tax savings of around $317,000.
The need for tax breaks were born out of evolving economic dynamics.
“The current dynamics surrounding financing and constructing hotels makes for an extremely difficult environment. First, banks remain very reticent to commit long-term financing to such projects without seeing significant subsidies. Only two short years ago we saw the industry decimated to the tune of almost 90% of our year-over-year revenue. While rooms are being booked again, banks are still very restrained in their commitments to hotel projects,” Mehta wrote to IDA members in August.
The biggest loser in the PILOT is the local school district, who would have received $1.6 million over the 10 year agreement period, rather than $422,614 it will get now.
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