Hotel Topeka needs another $500K to finance ongoing needs. Here's how Topeka leaders voted

Topeka city officials say guests rented 196 of the 224 rooms available Friday night at the city-owned Hotel Topeka in the midst of Washburn University's two-day Washburn Open track meet, which drew more than 1,500 competitors from five Division I schools and more.

But only 107 rooms in the hotel at 1717 S.W. Topeka Blvd. were filled on Saturday night, after that meet ended, said a spokeswoman for Topeka's city government.

Those figures help illustrate the challenges the city faces as it continues to run that hotel while seeking a company to operate it on a long-term basis.

City has 'largely exhausted' $500,000 it set aside for Hotel Topeka

When Topeka's mayor and city council voted to buy the hotel last year, the city became responsible for covering any costs it incurs.

The city revealed last year that the hotel was losing an annual average of $15,000 a month, including up to $150,000 a month during the winter and early spring.

Topeka's mayor and council voted last October to set aside $500,000 to operate and maintain the hotel.

But the city has "largely exhausted that," public works director Braxton Copley told the mayor and council late Tuesday.

He asked them to authorize additional funding totaling up to $500,000 to finance "ongoing operational and critical capital needs."

The mayor and council voted 6-3 to approve that request.

Mayor Mike Padilla and council members Karen Hiller, Brett Kell, Neil Dobler, Spencer Duncan and Michelle Hoferer voted in favor.

Council members Christina Valdivia-Alcala, Sylvia Ortiz and David Banks dissented.

Councilman Marcus D.L. Miller took part in Tuesday's meeting by Zoom but logged off prior to the hotel vote to watch in person as his daughter played in a high school varsity basketball game.

How did we get here on running Hotel Topeka?

The city bought Hotel Topeka so it could protect that community asset by proactively ensuring it receives the improvements it needs and gets an owner and operator who will take care of it, city officials have said.

Topeka's mayor and city council voted 7-2 on May 30 to authorize Topeka's city government to try to buy the hotel, which has an appraisal value of $3 million.

The city bid about $7.6 million in an auction in June to win the right to buy the hotel.

Topeka's mayor and city council then voted 7-2 on Oct. 17 to finalize the purchase, create a single-purpose entity owned by the city to take title and authorize the spending of public money to operate and maintain the hotel.

"The ultimate goal is to find a developer or entity that will purchase and operate the hotel," said a document in the agenda packet for the Oct. 17 meeting. "Meanwhile, the city will create a single purpose entity owned by the city which will take title and contract with a management company to operate the Hotel."

The Topeka Development Corporation was formed in mid-October to take ownership of the hotel, obtain the necessary licenses and insurance and contract with a management company to oversee its day-to-day operations.

The corporation subsequently contracted with GF Hotels & Resorts to operate the hotel and awarded contracts for asset management and a facilities assessment.

Other business

Also on Tuesday evening, Topeka's mayor and council discussed potentially building a garage expected to cost an estimated $5.5 million on property the city owns just to the northeast of S.E. 8th and Madison to replace the garage where the city currently keeps its light-duty vehicles.

The current garage must be torn down to make way for a project to rebuild and realign downtown's Polk-Quincy Viaduct.

Council members said Tuesday they'd be willing to entertain the possibility of building a new facility but had questions about how it would function, how it would be designed and how much it needed to cost.

No action was taken Tuesday on the matter.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Hotel Topeka needs another $500,000 to finance its ongoing needs