COEUR d'ALENE — Ron Ayers has plans to turn the land in Coeur d'Alene where the dilapidated Garden Motel currently sits into a vibrant piece of property highlighted by a four-story Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott.

But Ayers, who has owned the 4.55-acre piece of property on Northwest Boulevard and Emma Avenue for more than a decade, is asking for help from Coeur d'Alene's urban renewal agency, ignite cda.

"Obviously this is an area that needs to be improved," said Coeur d'Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer, who also serves as a commissioner on the board of ignite cda. "What the urban renewal district's involvement is in the project, if any, is yet to be determined."

Widmyer, along with the rest of ignite's board, got a first look at a proposed $1.25 million partnership between Ayers and the agency at its monthly meeting on Oct. 19. During the presentation, Ayers described the "Coeurllaboration" project as a "200,000-square-foot, mixed-use, solar powered, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott-anchored entrepreneurial and economic development focused hospitality center."

"There is a lot of homework that needs to be done from here to determine if this project is something that is viable and something that the urban renewal district will support," Widmyer said.

Ignite cda Executive Director Tony Berns told The Press the urban renewal agency is not being asked to provide any funding up front. Instead, Berns said if the partnership is approved next month by ignite's board of commissioners, funding will be in the form of an "Improvement Reimbursement Agreement."

"The developer pays for all of the board agreed-to public improvements up front, then the developer is reimbursed for the public improvement costs over time solely from property tax increment revenues generated from his project," Berns said. "If the project does not generate sufficient funds to reimburse the developer prior to the (Lake) district’s sunset, then the developer does not get fully reimbursed for his upfront costs."

Berns added ignite cda has not partnered directly with any hotel project in the past. The entirety of the project is within the boundaries of ignite cda's Lake District, which is set to expire in 2021.

"To reach highest and best use, as well as maximum value, jobs and utility to the area, the site requires extensive work due to its elevated nature, including substantial earth removal and retaining walls," Ayers said.

Ayers, the former owner of the Cedar Motel and RV Park who sold the property last spring, said he would like to open the hotel and surrounding businesses in 2017.

Along with the 112-room hotel, Ayers said the solar-powered site would feature above-ground, off-street parking with a 60-space parking structure, a Solar Roadways installation on the sidewalk and parking area, and up to 2 acres of restaurant and retail pads.

"Over 125 people will be employed during the construction," Ayers added. "The resulting project will also create more than 70 jobs."

Ayers broke down the financing of the project as follows:

Owner Equity - Land = $2.8 million

ignite cda = $1.26 million

Debt - Bank = $10.9 million

Ayers told ignite's board he estimates the completed project will bring the overall assessed value of the property from $2 million to $22 million — $15 million for the hotel and $7 million for the restaurant and retail portions — bringing an 18 to 1 investment to value ratio on the $1.25 million he has requested. That estimate, according to Ayers, would also completely refund his up-front investment, should ignite approve the partnership, before the Lake District expires.

However, after the presentation, ignite cda Vice-Chair Alivia Metts questioned how Ayers arrived at his estimates, while noting other hotels in the area are assessed at a number ranging from $5.2 million to $9.1 million.

On Friday, Metts told The Press she is not certain if the assessed value of the properties could reach the estimates provided by Ayers, who replied to Metts' question during the meeting that getting those numbers requires looking into the future.

"It's not really an apples to apples comparison," Metts, a regional economic expert, added. "It seemed a bit high from what I was thinking it would be. But, at that point, they'd be assuming all of the risks if it didn't get that high."

When asked by The Press if he believes the proposed partnership falls within the purview of urban renewal, and whether he has any particular concerns about the request or project as whole, Berns replied the ignite cda board "will address this question as part of their review of the partnership funding request."

Metts told The Press that, when it comes to her decision-making on the proposed partnership, asking the question of whether or not the project would move forward without the agency's support is an important one. She noted that during the meeting, Commissioner Denny Davis mentioned the partnership proposal was broken down into three chunks, one involving cleaning up the site and two for improvements to the surrounding right-of-ways.

"The purpose of urban renewal is to typically pay for the cost of getting the land ready for them," Metts said. "But there's a gray area there too. What is that fine line?"

In addition, Metts said she would like to learn more about the "Coeurllaborate" portion of the proposal, which she added needs to have a solid foundation in place because it is the public side of the project.

"If it's an entrepreneurial center that's open to the public, that is great," Metts said. "But I need a better understanding of that. It needs to be better defined before moving forward."

The ignite cda board of commissioners is expected to make a formal decision on the proposed partnership during its regular meeting in November.