Following a Special Meeting and Executive Session on Tuesday, the City of Topeka’s Governing Body authorized the city to purchase Hotel Topeka at City Center by a vote of 7-2. Hotel Topeka, located at 1717 SW Topeka Blvd., is set to go to auction next week.
“When we learned that Hotel Topeka was going to auction, we saw an opportunity to strengthen our tourism economy, and attract convention business we know we’re currently losing to other communities,” said Topeka City Manager Stephen Wade. “The city will look to experts to develop a holistic approach, along with private sector partners, to re-develop the hotel, to ensure we’ll have a successful and attractive convention center for many years to come.”
According to a study commissioned and funded by Visit Topeka, the community’s tourism agency, the Conventional Hotel inventory in Topeka is, “dated and in dire need of repositioning.”
“We know that hotels and convention centers can have a massive economic impact on a destination. In the first quarter of 2023, Topeka sold more hotel rooms than the first quarter of 2008, which was a record year. Our current success is thanks to incredible sporting events, a full legislative session, and great leisure activities and events. However, we continue to lose meetings and conventions from groups concerned about the condition of the Hotel Topeka. Today, the City of Topeka has stepped up and ensured that our future as a convention destination isn’t left to chance,” said Sean Dixon, President of Visit Topeka.
It’s not uncommon for municipalities to own or finance hotels and convention centers. In Kansas, the City of Overland Park owns and operates its hotel and convention center, and the City of Manhattan previously financed its hotel and convention center. Data provided by Visit Topeka shows that if the hotel is re-developed, in 2027, the hotel would sell nearly 50,000 room nights a year, generating an estimated annual sales tax revenue of nearly $1 million, and an estimated $440,000 in annual Transient Guest Tax (TGT) revenue. Additionally, it’s estimated that the overall economic impact of visitor spending tied to the hotel would be $20 million annually.
“The action taken by the Governing Body today demonstrates to the community that we are a government of possibilities. In the past, we’ve seen economic development opportunities slip through our fingers, and this is a time for us to take control of our own future, and look at our community health as a whole,” said Topeka Mayor Michael Padilla. “This is a group effort to showcase our city as a place that is looking to the future, to become a place of choice for conventions that we have already lost.”
The purchase of the property is not final. The action taken Tuesday allows the city to make an offer to purchase the hotel. The purchase price will not be disclosed until the sale goes through. If the purchase goes through, the city, in consultation with the Governing Body, private partners and industry experts, will determine how to best re-develop the property.
