Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Bloomington City Council has approved giving up some city property for construction of a $27 million Hyatt Hotel near the downtown courthouse square.
Council members voted 8-1 Monday night to vacate an alley in the middle of the project site after a 2-hour-plus discussion of low wages in the hotel industry and whether supporting the project was consistent with Bloomington's "living wage" ordinance.
Jeremy Stephenson, vice president of Indianapolis-based real estate firm REI Real Estate Services LLC, said the hotel operators will pay competitive salaries but won't commit to the city's "living wage" standard of $11.66 an hour, the Herald-Times reported.
Supporters told the council the project will bring needed hotel rooms and visitor revenue to the city.
Stephenson says construction of the 168-room hotel should start next spring and be finished in 2014.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.