Major SC developer pitches Columbia convention hotel. Tourism leaders say it may not be large enough

A new hotel proposal being considered near Columbia’s downtown convention center likely is far too small to support the needs of the venue, the capital city’s tourism leader and business leaders say.

Longtime South Carolina developer Bo Aughtry has pitched building a new hotel just outside of the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, Experience Columbia CEO Bill Ellen told board members for the Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports and Tourism Tuesday.

Aughtry’s proposal is backed by Mayor Daniel Rickenmann and Councilman Joe Taylor, Ellen added. Neither Rickenmann nor Taylor were at the convention center board meeting.

While local hoteliers, economic development experts and venue directors in the city have stressed the need for more hotel rooms to accommodate big conferences and other events at the convention center that bring people and their tourism dollars to Columbia, Aughtry’s proposal may not fit the bill, according to members of the convention center board.

Aughtry’s planned hotel would be a Mariott with roughly 200 rooms built on property owned by the convention center. That’s about two-thirds the number of rooms Ellen has said would be needed to support large events and an eventual expansion of the city’s convention venue.

When reached for questions Tuesday, Aughtry stressed the plan is still conceptual and no formal arrangements have been made. He added that if and when the time came to take formal steps, he would present the plan to the convention center board and the city council. He declined to discuss the plan further, saying it was premature to comment.

Ellen has said numerous times the convention center needs a hotel with at least 350 rooms. Ellen and others on the board shared anecdotes of major conventions choosing other cities over Columbia because Columbia does not have the hotel capacity to support large events.

Currently, when major conventions come to Columbia, participants are spread across multiple hotels in the Vista and other parts of downtown. Ellen said oftentimes event planners will opt to move the event to an area where all participants can stay in the same hotel.

“We all are appreciative that the mayor and council wants to try to get a hotel for the convention center; they don’t really totally understand our needs.” Ellen told the board Tuesday. “I think their intent is positive … the proposed hotel just does not meet our needs.”

He added that details are still being ironed out. The board also discussed issuing a request for information to solicit ideas from developers for different hotel plans.

Aughtry is a longtime hotel developer in South Carolina, including in the capital, having built the Hampton Inn on Gervais Street in 2001 and later the Hilton Columbia Center in conjunction with the convention center. His company Windsor Aughtry has also developed major projects in Greenville, as well as elsewhere in the U.S.

Widnsor Aughtry was in the process of developing a hotel project at the Kline Iron and Steel site at the intersection of Huger and Gervais streets just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020. That project did not come to fruition.

The new hotel proposal comes months after the collapse of a previous plan to expand the convention center in conjunction with the private development of three new hotels and a business tower. That project would have been led by Ben Arnold of Arnold Companies, another longtime developer in Columbia.

The proposal died when Richland County leaders and Arnold failed to come to an agreement on how a parking garage to support the hotels would be paid for.

One economic feasibility study estimated that project could bring $8 billion in new spending to Columbia over the next 30 years, while a competing study paid for by Taylor suggested those estimates were based on “exceptionally optimistic” attendance figures.

Rickenmann was vocally opposed to Arnold’s proposal and has said expanding the convention center is not an immediate priority for the city.

“I thank Ben for taking a step back,” Rickenmann said after Arnold’s deal fell through. “This project, as presented, isn’t right for us to prioritize at this time. If in the future, a plan presents itself for us to expand the convention center and still meet our obligations to every community in our city, then we will look forward to considering it.”

Not all on council agreed with Rickenmann. At-large Councilman Howard Duvall has frequently said expanding the convention center remains a priority.

Duvall added that the proposed development with Aughtry has not been discussed with the rest of City Council. Because the property the hotel would be built on is owned by the city, Duvall said the plan requires a formal council vote.

“I think this is strictly two members of the council looking for a deal with a developer they’re accustomed to,” Duvall said of the proposal with Aughtry.

Duvall said he would like to see the convention center board issue a request for proposals from developers to ensure the city gets a hotel proposal that suits long term growth.

The State has reached out to the mayor’s office for additional information.