Padre owners look to city, feds for loan as work on hotel continues
| Tuesday, Jul 14 2009 04:58 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Jul 15 2009 10:34 AM
Images
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Sections of Spartacus Miller's rocket lie near The Padre Hotel. It was brought down off the top of the hotel as construction continues at the hotel and a new era begins for the downtown Bakersfield landmark.
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Spartacus Miller's rocket comes down in pieces from the top of The Padre Hotel in downtown Bakersfield Wednesday morning.
The Padre Hotel in downtown Bakersfield.
The coincidence is almost too much.
On Wednesday, owners of the Padre Hotel downtown look to the City Council for assistance in securing a $1.8 million federal loan -- just hours after they plan to remove a rooftop "rocket" that a former owner installed and pointed straight at City Hall.
Project manager Peter Palmer insists the timing wasn't planned. No soft sell, he said, no taking the high road.
"I just need to get the rocket down and the (Kern County) Historical Society wants it," he said Tuesday.
Both actions represent movement toward a much-anticipated renovation project that downtown business owners and tourism executives hope will attract visitors to the area -- and breathe new life into a local landmark built in 1927.
The Section 108 loan, if approved by the council and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, would have to be repaid by the building's San Diego-based owners. Although the city would essentially sign for the loan, the 112-room hotel itself -- or its fixtures and equipment -- would serve as collateral.
The city's economic development director, Donna Kunz, said the city has not participated in a Section 108 loan for a private project in many years.
Padre investment partner Brett Miller said in an e-mail Tuesday that the building could open in September. When it does, he wrote, there will be plenty of opportunities inside for eating and drinking.
"We have five food and beverage venues on site; they are Prospect Lounge, Farmacy Café, Belvedere Room -- upscale dining, Brimstone Bar" and another bar that would go on the second floor.
Meanwhile, he has some jobs to fill, including hotel managers and a chef. He suggested that applicants send resumes to jobs@thepadrehotel.com.
Miller indicated that construction progress continues.
"We will have floors 3 through 8 ready for furniture and carpet by the end of July," he wrote in the e-mail. "The basement, lobby and second floor will be ready for furniture by the middle of August."
