Council gives green light to sell Sheraton hotel in downtown Phoenix

PHOENIX — The Phoenix City Council gave the thumbs-up Wednesday to sell the Sheraton Grand Hotel in the downtown area for $255 million.

The sale was expected to be completed in early January.

As part of the deal, the buyer will receive $13 million from the city’s hotel capital replacement fund to pay for renovations and upgrade along with a 20-year tax break.

A presentation during the meeting said officials believed it was the best sale price they could get for the property near Third and Van Buren streets.

However, two councilmen — Sal DiCiccio and Jim Waring — voted against the sale. DiCiccio said selling the hotel was a mistake, given that it had started to turn a profit in recent years.

“You’re taking a bad idea and making it worse by selling it today when we’re in a growing economy, a growing market,” DiCiccio said. “A one-year wait would not have hurt this thing.”

City Manager Ed Zuercher argued the offer was above what the city felt the hotel was worth and it removed the burden of owning it.

“Selling the hotel eliminates the city’s ownership risks, the broader economy risk, the travel industry risk and any local building ownership risks,” he said.

Phoenix built the hotel, which opened in 2008, to increase the number of hotel rooms available for the nearby convention center.

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