Plans for a multi-million dollar hotel and conference center at the Canyon Ridge Club and Resort on Lookout Mountain continue to move forward, according to the resort's owner, Randy Baker.
The project has relied on financing from several avenues, including Build America Bonds and Recovery Zone Facility Bonds, both of which were not sold before they expired on Dec. 31.
However, Baker said Tuesday that financial consultants representing the county had advised before the deadline that the tidal wave of projects being pushed through before the deadline caused interest rates to soar, making a delay of the offering the most acceptable choice.
"It was simply not the time to lock in an interest rate for 30 years," Baker said in an e-mail. "Everyone agrees the rates will come down."
Baker said team members for the project are optimistic Congress will extend the Recovery Zone Facility Bonds this month - a $21 million chunk of the development.
Even without the bonds, the project can still move forward, he said.
"The county has been very clear regarding their expecations of the size and scope and quality of the project as well as their level of commitment," Baker said. "It is up to the hotel developer, operator, financial analyst and the balance of the team to comply with those expectations and I believe they will and I continue to support their efforts to do so."
Read tomorrow's Chattanooga Times Free Press for complete coverage.