The city is preparing to spend more than $18 million to bring a full-service Marriott hotel and upscale condominiums to the heart of downtown. City officials say it's a relatively small price to pay when considering the benefits: a robust stream of tax revenue for years to come, and an economic engine that will help create a bustling downtown. But some experts believe that the economic projects relied on by the city are way too optimistic. They question whether a hotel built next to City Hall can compete with other North County hotels close to beaches or on golf courses and predict that the hotel would have trouble reaching 70 percent occupancy, and could see much less. Critics also are concerned that the proposed 85-foot-high condo building is too tall, and that the development could make parking downtown more difficult, especially during its 18 months of construction. See story from North County Times

According to the proposal, the developer would build a seven-story hotel overlooking Grape Day Park on a city-owned parking lot between City Hall and the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, on Valley Parkway. The city would give the developer $6 million to build the hotel and pay for an $8 million parking structure underneath it and also provide the developer with control over the conference center at the Center for the Arts. The project includes eight stories of condominiums as well. Hotel experts say condos often are mixed into hotel projects to help spread the risk for investors. Residential development tends to be more reliable. See story from San Diego Union Tribune