The Hacienda was originally built in 1922, according to a presentation made by Mario Iezzoni at Tuesday night’s city council workshop on rehabilitating the Hacienda. It has not contributed to the tax base in 15 years, he said, and ad valorem taxes of $1,071,000 would mean the city should be receiving about $10,000 in property taxes.

Enter the developer that NewsPortRichey has voiced concerns about, Abraham “Avi” Rosner. They were late to the meeting, but Mr. Rosner and his father attended the meeting together. The senior Rosner says that he thinks there is a “possibility to restore it to its former grandeur,” referring to the Hacienda.

Of his son, Mr. Rosner said “He has taken a hotel in Yulee that was completely devastated over the last few years… brought a viable, working, profitable hotel in less than a three year period.”

Abraham Rosner, the younger, came out openly in the meeting when asked by Councilman Jeff Starkey and said he wants to buy the hotel, not just lease it.

As part of Mr. Iezzoni’s report on the financial status of the hotel, he cited numbers that included a projected 70% average occupancy rate for the future hotel–a number that seems to us to be completely out of reach. The national average for hotel occupancy was 61.4% in 2012 according to the American Hotel & Lodging Assocation. Mr. Iezzoni proposed room rates near $100 for one of his proposals.

Mr. Iezzoni referenced a total gross revenue of $1,000,000 in revenue at a room rate of $100 per night and gross revenue of $1,456,350 at $190 per night. Based on the nationwide average of 61.4% rather than Iezzoni’s 70%, our calculations show that those gross profit levels would only be $672,000 and $1,277,427 respectively. That’s roughly 30% below Mr. Iezzoni’s projections. Based upon the fact that Mr. Iezzoni’s numbers and projections may be off from the start, it would appear that the hotel idea itself may not be a profitable business model for the area. Boutique hotels in downtown Dunedin, FL rent for an average of $127 per night according to TripAdvisor.

Further, this is all based on the assumption that the Hacienda will have a total of 30 rooms. Mr. Iezzoni’s numbers would require that 28 rooms be rented 365 days per year. That would come to a total of $1,022,000 in gross revenue at $100 per night. Do you see 28 rooms being booked year round at the Hacienda Hotel in downtown New Port Richey?

Here’s where we stand:

New Port Richey currently on has one developer interested in the project, Abraham Rosner of Florida Motel, Inc.

City Council has voiced support for this developer and this project and continued to do so at Tuesday’s workshop meeting.

The economic advice given by Mario Iezzoni, the City’s Economic Development Director, is flawed.

New Port Richey’s residents overwhelmingly rejected selling the Hacienda in a survey commissioned by the City.

We’ve reported. Now it’s time for you to connect the dots.

by Jon Tietz