Written by Michael Palomba
The City Council voted Monday in favor of raising taxes on hotels to fund a Convention Center expansion, homeless services, and infrastructure improvements.
The increase, which was passed 5-4, would raise the city’s transient occupancy tax from 10.5% to as high as 15.75% in certain areas. It is expected to generate $140 million in additional revenue per year.
The main purpose of the tax hike would be to allow the city to purchase a section of land next to the Convention Center. Once obtained, the city would increase the size of the convention center by about 50 percent, or 400,000 square feet, bringing its total size to a whopping 1.2 million square feet.
The land is currently owned by Fifth Avenue Landing, a superyacht dockage and transient berthing service. It’s expected to cost $30 million, while $3.5 billion has been set aside for the purchase price as well as upkeep and marketing.
While the hotel tax increase would fund other projects, the Convention Center is the top priority. Lastly, $1.8 billion of remaining revenue would be allocated to fund city homeless services and shelters, and $551 million would be spent on road repair.
