Broadway Hotel starts TIF approval process

Officials for the Broadway Hotel have started the process of working toward a tax increment financing (TIF) that would help fund expansion.

A TIF committee met Thursday to elect board members. At that meeting, officials said plans for expansion are still in early stages. However, the hotel’s general manager said he would like to break ground on the expansion by April 2018 if possible.

ABC 17 has reported on the proposed expansion in the past few months. The owner of the Broadway Hotel said the expansion would provide much needed conference space in downtown Columbia. He also said major conferences avoid Columbia because of the lack of meeting space. The expansion would almost triple the amount of space at the hotel.

The expansion still hasn’t been approved by the City Council or had a public hearing. There is no deadline for the TIF commission to give its approval.