San Diego-Gaylord hotel/Convention center deal still may be in the works

from today's San Diego Business Journal:


Gaylord May Still Move Ahead on $1B Chula Vista Hotel/Convention Center
By MIKE ALLEN - 8/6/2007
San Diego Business Journal Staff

"Local labor leaders dismissed a proposal by Gaylord Entertainment on a $1 billion Chula Vista hotel/convention center project last week. But some observers say the Tennessee-based developer may still move ahead with plans.

At a news conference Aug. 1, union officials said a proposal made by Gaylord in late July was a “nonstarter” because it failed to provide for hiring local workers first." ....

"In July 2006, Chula Vista, the port and Gaylord entered into a development agreement on 32 acres of prime bay front land to build a 2,000-room hotel and a 400,000-square-foot convention center. The city and port agreed to invest $308 million into the $1 billion project that was said to create 6,500 construction jobs and 2,500 permanent hotel jobs." ....

"Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox said the unions’ decision to stop talking robbed the city of “the opportunity to work with this established and successful company.”

“Gaylord promised to give first dibs to local union contractors and said the company would use their best faith efforts to hire people from Chula Vista and surrounding areas,” Cox said.

Despite the apparent demise of the Gaylord project, some said the developer may still go forward on the Chula Vista project, but without a project labor agreement, or PLA.

Not Legally Required

The pacts are not legally required but have become common on large projects when public funding is involved.

PLAs are usually negotiated with unions as a way to nail down all the various aspects of constructing a major project, including the union scale wages, starting times, and whether nonunion contractors can bid on contracts." ....

"Gaylord may have wanted to avoid having the unions and other parties challenge the project as it moves through regulatory approvals.

Raising environmental and legal objections to the project would increase the cost, and possibly derail it entirely, said George Hawkins, president of Associated Builders and Contractors of San Diego, another trade association for local contractors.

Gaylord agreed to negotiate with labor on a PLA because with an agreement in hand, regulatory approval would likely be easier to obtain, Hawkins said.

Besides challenges during the environmental review process, parties could also file legal challenges in the courts. That tactic caused two years of delays in building Petco Park." ....


for complete story see: http://sdbj.com/enews_article.asp?aID=38211536.5682585.1508923.1425568.1603234.322&aID2=116062&lid=30&sid=&cID=Z