AMARILLO, TEXAS -- The redevelopment of Downtown Amarillo took yet another step at City Hall Tuesday afternoon.
City Commissioners got a recommendation from the Local Government Corporation to approve the next phase of those projects.
The L.G.C. recommended the City Commission give the green light to a proposed budget for the project that will bring a new hotel, a multipurpose event center/ballpark and parking garage downtown.
"Coupled with that recommendation, the Commission moved forward, and the city moved forward with that process is a recommendation that they move forward with all the necessary documentation to make all of that happen, move forward with the recommendation that a detailed design process be undertaken for those venues," said L.G.C. President Gary Pitner.
The L.G.C. also recommended moving forward with a number of other downtown development recommendations.
The proposal on the table right now has the total project costing $113 million.
"Of that amount $68 million is set aside for the hotel, the multipurpose event venue/ballpark is about $30 million approximately and the the parking structure is about $13 million."
Pitner says he looks forward to the City Commissioners considering the proposal at their meeting next week, but Downtown wasn't the only topic being discussed Tuesday.
A new drought contingency plan was also presented that will enact water restrictions in the city in the case of a drought as bad as the one we are facing this year.
"The interesting thing to me about this new drought contingency plan is, that had we had it in place this summer we would have indeed got to stage two sometime in June during that high water use and that would have mean even/odd watering day," said City Commissioner Place One Ellen Robertson-Green.
The new plan will mean voluntary water restrictions in stage one, but mandatory restrictions in stages two, three and four.
When asked about the recommendation made by the L.G.C. Robertson-Green said the public and private consensus seems to be that the synergy created by the new projects is something Amarillo needs.
