Frederick is one small step closer to seeing plans for a 200-room downtown hotel and conference center come to life. The Frederick Board of Aldermen endorsed a grant application last week for a consultant to update an 84-page study completed in January. The January study, according to Richard Griffin, director of economic development, used 2008 data. That data needs to reflect current conditions using 2010 data, Griffin said in an interview. The update is at the request of the Maryland Stadium Authority, a key player in helping the city obtain state funding and project managment assistance, Griffin said.

“Since 2008, the market has gone downhill,” Griffin said. “When we went to the stadium authority for help in pushing this project forward, they said they had to verify and update our data first.”

The city and its development partners, including the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce, paid $30,000 for the January study. That money meets the local matching criteria for a $30,000 grant from the Maryland Dept. of Housing and Community Development to update the report. Griffin hopes a consultant, chosen by the stadium authority, can update the report by this fall.

The projected cost of a 14,000-square-foot hotel and convention center is $45 million, and does not include the price of land, according to the January study conducted by The Pinnacle Group. The Pinnacle Group analysed six potential sites downtown and determined that the three best suited to the center include the site of the Frederick News-Post building at East Patrick and Carroll Streets; the block that houses downtown’s post office on East Patrick Street, and the Galleria Center along Carroll Creek.

“Everyone has their own thoughts on which is the best site,” Griffin said. “Each one brings something different to the table.”

No site will be selected without guidance from the stadium authority, he said.

kheerbrandt@gazette.net