Truman Hotel Urban Renewal Plan to move on to Jefferson City Council

The Jefferson City Planning and Zoning Commission voted Thursday to recommend an urban renewal plan for the former Truman Hotel property to city council.

ABC 17 News reported in September that a TIF proposal to redevelop the abandoned property failed to pass City Council.

Since then, the developers, the Puri Group of Enterprises, have gone through the Jefferson City Housing Authority to get assistance for redevelopment through an urban renewal plan.

A 2015 study found the property blighted by state law requirements. The study found many issues with the property, including mold and cockroach infestations, a mildew problem and a fire risk with no sprinkler system.

If passed, the developers would get a certificate for tax abatement, which typically lasts for about 10 years, according to the housing authority’s executive director Cynthia Quetsch.

That means the developers would not have to pay increases on property taxes while making improvements.

The redevelopment plan would consist of two phases similar to what was planned in the TIF proposal.

First, the developers would demolish three buildings on the southwest portion of the property and construct a new five-story hotel.

In the second phase, developers would demolish buildings on the northeast side to make room for another four-story hotel and replace the existing conference space with a new one.

Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Chris Jordan said he believed the development would be a great benefit to the city.

“From the plans that we were shown tonight, this would be a definite benefit to that Highway 54 Corridor,” Jordan said. “As well as one of the commission members made a comment that people coming and going forth–going from our community, that’s one of the things they see driving down that major highway, and we want to get that cleaned up.”

The City Council is set to hold a public hearing on the plan at its next meeting on Feb. 20.