Salado aldermen approve master development agreement with new owner tonight

Clark Lyda confirmed to Salado Village Voice this evening that Stagecoach 1943 LP, owned through the Lyda family trust, has closed the purchase of Stagecoach Inn property, including the restaurant, hotel and conference facilities from Terry Potts.
Tonight, Salado Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a Master Development Plan with Stagecoach 1943, LP, followed immediately by approval of a Master Development Agreement and a Tourism Marketing Agreement with Stagecoach 1943.
In the Development Plan, the developer will make a minimum capital investment of $7.5 million in the Stagecoach Property. The deloper will add 38 rooms to the property, bringing the total to 120 rooms. The property will be a four star property, according to the presentation on the plans for Stagecoach Inn.
Phase 1 of the Plan will be the renovation and redevelopment of the historic Stagecoach Inn on Main Street. Phase 1 will include redeveloping the retail spaces on the west side of Main Street into a 5,0000 sq. ft. conference center.
According to the Development Plan, the final design of Phase 1 will be completed by the end of 2015 with work commencing in 2016. The developer will prove to the Village of Salado its financial capacity for the redevelopment of the Mixed Use Development.
Phase 2 of the Development Plan will be the expansion, renovation and redevelopment of the hotel property, including the addition of 38 rooms. The entry into the hotel property will be on Main Street, according to the plan. The plan will include addition of a full service fitness center, a mineral pool with spa and a landscaped courtyard with an an outdoor event and activity center.
The developer, according to the Development Plan, will provide its final design and prove its financing of the second phase of the project by the end of 2017. The expansion of the hotel will be completed by July 2019.
City manager Kim Foutz said that the dates are conservative estimates.
Parts of the package of incentives include these:
• Allowing the developer to use his own independent third-party inspector at his own cost for all inspections.
• The Village agrees to allow the developer to lease the parking lot along the creek at $1 per year with the option of purchasing the property for $1 at the completion of Phase 1. The Village would maintain all easements for utilities and public access.
• The developer will pay $500 month for wastewater for two years or until completion of the sewer system when rates would be set.
The Village also approved a Tourism Marketing Agreement with Stagecoach 1943 LP that would rebate the local hotel occupancy taxes that the Stagecoach generates above its historic baseline for 10 years on a declining scale. Under the marketing agreement, the Stagecoach In would present its marketing plan to the Board of Aldermen each year.
The 10 year scale would be this: 70 percent in year one, 65 percent in year two, 55 percent in year three, 50 percent in year four, 45 percent in years five through seven and 40 percent in years eight through 10.
Foutz presented plans for property tax abatements (for improvements to the property) that will be considered at a later date. Those could be on a 10 year, declining scale in this manner: Years one through five: 100 percent; year six: 80 percent; year seven: 60 percent; year eight, 40 percent; years nine through 10: 20 percent.