City officials said Friday that Hacienda developer Avi Rosner has asked the City to consider leasing or selling the City’s Business Incubator to Rosner to provide additional rooms for the hotel and to serve as a conference center.

The request comes after an assessment of the current Hacienda building found that in order to comply with the requirements of the $1 million provided for the restoration of the hotel by the State of Florida, additions made to the building will have to be removed. City officials say the number of rooms at the hotel will have to be reduced to compensate. This will reduce the overall square footage of the building. The needed demolitions will remove space intended for restrooms, an outdoor bar, and administrative facilities, according to Rosner.

The City estimates the cost of the replacement of the business incubator and the parking lot adjacent to it at $1.4 million. The business incubator currently has 9,250 square feet.

The Rosners agreed to a deal that was approved by New Port Richey in early February. Under that agreement, the Rosners were to operate a 27 room hotel under a tax-lease agreement that allowed the Rosners to lease the hotel for the equivalent of the property taxes.