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The Hilton will be located at 400 S Court St, the corner of Court St & Dr. Hicks Blvd removing the old Days Inn. Shoals music history buffs will also recognize this address as where a little music history was made between Aretha Franklin, Rick Hall, and Jerry Wexler!
An executive conference center refers to a more upscale facility that accommodates groups up to 250. This group size is often more difficult to serve at larger venues geared toward serving 500 to 1000 guests. PCH sees this as part of their new vision and have identified Florence as the first of its type in Alabama.
The Florence community is unique in Alabama which offers a great opportunity for this Hilton to thrive. Florence will be only the second city in Alabama, behind Mobile, with two PCH conference hotels.
No. The conference center will be under local ownership. As the project moves forward this ownership is likely to include more local partnerships that will only increase the local ownership and local stake in the property.
For the past number of years, the Shoals Marriott has seen a 90%+ occupancy rate in-season and has consistently maintained a 65%+ annual average. The Shoals area misses out on events and conferences each year due to either a lack of rooms, or a facility sized to accommodate profitable “executive” conferences.
Yes! Local contractors will bid this work. The hotel builders will observe the City of Florence Ordinance providing local contractors and suppliers with price protections.
Independent studies project that more than 55,000 more visitors will come to the Shoals each year because of the Hilton facility. And, 27,000 of these will be visitors who are visiting for the very first time.
$14.2 million dollars per year will be spent locally substantially impacting Florence’s downtown.
The Hilton will include a wonderful restaurant and rooftop relaxation. The first floor, right on Court St, will include a podcast and streaming audio center – Radio Muscle Shoals – where local musicians, writers, and the folks who made us the hit capitol of the world will play, tell their stories, and build on our musical and artistic heritage. This will serve as a place to promote culture and provide more entertainment, not just for visitors, but also for the folks who call Florence and the Shoals home.
No! The city is not being asked to pay for the conference center or subsidize it.
No local bank is large enough to make this type of loan; no matter the credit rating of the borrower. The Florence market is too small for a traditional bank loan. This is the primary reason to request that the city participate in the Alabama legislature-approved Amendment 772 authorized credit enhancement. This common funding method has been used successfully by multiple cities across Alabama to get this type of project financed.
The city’s initial participation will allow the conference center to pay for itself. Generated taxes and proceeds will pay the debt by a wide margin.
In 2004 the Alabama legislature saw the need for public/private funding partnerships so that Alabama communities can work together to build facilities just like the Hilton project. 772 funding is very common throughout the state and has been used successfully by dozens of communities just like Florence.
Quoting the Alabama Attorney General: Amendment 772 specifically gives a county or municipality authority “to lend its credit to or grant public funds and things of value in aid of or to any individual, firm, corporation, or other business entity, public or private, for the purpose of promoting the economic and industrial development of the county or the municipality.” Independent economic researchers have concluded that this project yields over 500% economic impact more than cost.
Yes. The Downtowner will be an upscale hotel and PCH is a top hospitality employer in the industry. Conference centers like the planned Hilton employ a wide variety of workers. Management-level positions including Sales, Event Management, Concierge Services, to hourly front-of-house customer experience, bartender/server positions, culinary, and facilities maintenance. Many of our local UNA graduates will have opportunities not currently provided for in management and training.
Jay Molitor, VP of Development and Operations for PCH, adds that starting positions with no previous experience will start at a minimum, going up to over $25 for skilled positions. Some management positions will be over $100k. All positions will include considerable training, opportunity for career development as well as benefits for full time.
Participate in a legal Public Private Partnership (3P), only as necessary, to secure a RSA/PCH managed Hilton Conference Center. No subsidies are necessary. This project greatly self-funds over the forecasted period.
This project’s economic impact is very significant to downtown Florence, adding 55,000+ visitors annually, bringing all new income dollars to Florence.