JEFFERSON CITY — A group of former Jefferson City council members are urging city leaders to take action on a decaying hotel they say has become an unattractive landmark for the city.
The Truman Hotel sits empty on top of a hill overlooking U.S. 54 just south of downtown Jefferson City. The hotel, which closed in 2015, is in serious disrepair.
Weeds and overgrown trees cling to boarded up windows. The parking lot is a sea of cracked asphalt, debris and even a pile of clothes.
“It’s first impression of so many people that come through the city,” said Darrel Gordon, one of three former council members demanding action.
“Going to the Lake of the Ozarks you have Illinois people, St. Louis people, Kansas City people and that’s what you see. And first impressions, you can’t re-do those.”
Gordon, along with former Councilmembers Dr. Thomas Brant and Cliff Olsen, wrote a letter to the Jefferson City Council and Mayor Ron Fitzwater to bring attention to the issue.
Dr. Brant and Olsen appeared at a council meeting this month and chided city leaders about the hotel.
“The city hassles property owners if their grass is too high but lets the old Ramada Inn continue to look horrific,” Olsen said.
The hotel, which was a Ramada Inn until 2006, is owned by the Puri Group of Enterprises. The Puri Group is a Columbia-based company which operates several hotels in Mid-Missouri.
In 2017, the group signed a deal with the city to re-develop the property in exchange for a tax abatement. An abatement allows a developer to pay no real property taxes on a piece of land for up to 10 years.
Afterwards, the developer only has to pay up 50% of the property tax on the re-developed property. It’s meant to encourage developers to take on difficult projects on decaying land.
The Puri Group inked a deal to develop the property in two phases. Phase one called for a five-story, 131-room hotel with an indoor pool and restaurant. In 2019 the group completed construction of a Holiday Inn next to the Truman Hotel.
Phase two of the project calls for the company to demolish the remaining buildings and construct a new four-story hotel with a 20,000 square foot conference space that’s connected with the first hotel.
Raman Puri, President of Puri Group Enterprises, said the hotel industry in Jefferson City has slowed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said it wouldn’t make sense to build another hotel right now.
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“Anything in Jefferson City that’s hospitality is a losing proposition because the business has not recovered,” Puri said.
Demolition for phase one of the project cost around $1.5 million, Puri said. But, he said it’s unclear how much the rest of the demolition would cost because of inflation and supply chain issues.
The agreement also requires the developers to maintain the property in a good state of repair and attractive appearance.
Today, the Holiday Inn stands just feet away from the dilapidated Truman Hotel and parking lot.
Gordon said the developers are not upholding their end of the deal. “The point is, the city was good to them, real good to them, and now they’re not being good neighbors to the city,” Gordon said.
In an email, Puri said the company is in “complete compliance” with the city’s agreement. The hotel windows are boarded up to prevent trespassers and the company does manicured landscaping Puri said.
He said the company is “not required to do anything to the building itself other than keep it boarded and free of any violation.”
Once the old building is demolished and a new hotel is built the company will upkeep the property Puri said. Until the local economy improves, Puri said he won’t demolish the building.
Instead, Puri said the city leaders should focus on bringing more people into Jefferson City.
“They should be praising us for employing so many people in Jefferson City at our hotels and keeping them afloat despite the poor business in Jefferson City,” he said.
Mayor Ron Fitzwater said he shares the council members frustrations but a resolution is complicated. He said his administration inherited a bad situation.
“The city has to be careful how we go about resolving this issue,” Fitzwater said. “If we pushed it all the way and somehow the city ends up with the property then it’s totally our responsibility.”
The city is working with the Puri Group to come up with a solution that is good for the community, Fitzwater said.