HOUSTON – Houston City Council and Mayor Sylvester Turner plan on meeting six more times before finishing out their terms. With more than a month left, the local officials will be looking to spend your tax dollars on projects they believe will benefit you. Our job it to look at what they’re doing on their agendas and highlight those items during ‘Pop-Off Politics.’
This week, KPRC 2 Investigates found something that got pulled after we began asking questions Monday.
New Convention Center with Hotel?
Mayor Turner wanted to build a new convention center and hotel on the Post Houston property.
The plan called for a hotel with 90-200 rooms with a convention center inside the hotel.
We wanted to know: Who is the developer and why were they not listed? Was there a request for proposal, meaning did the city put this out for bid? Are there incentives tied to the involvement of the convention space? How much of our public dollars are being used?
All of these are relevant questions because that information is not listed on city documents that goes to all city council members. These are basic things that give city council members a very solid understanding of what they are voting on.
Once KPRC 2 Investigates asked the basic questions, we found out the item got pulled from consideration.
There are plans for two additional hotels, one near Minute Maid Park and the second is W Hotel. That was announced right before the pandemic.
Al Kashani is the developer of the project. He told KPRC 2 Investigates Mario Diaz, “We have our financing in place. We have everything lined up. We are just waiting for Houston First approval.”
You’re probably asking yourself, why are these projects relevant to what we are asking?
Well, the city has these two other projects in the pipeline, but they are struggling to get the shovels in the ground.
Roughly $2.6 Billion could be going towards United Airlines Terminal
Over at Bush Intercontinental Airport, ‘Pop-Off Politics’ found out what Phase III looks like for United Airlines and the City.
Officials are pushing a memorandum of agreement or MOA with United Airlines valued upwards of $2.6 billion.
This includes improvements to the airfield and roadways, parking for employees, renovating restrooms, and much more.
What that means to you and me, Terminal B looks to be costing us at least $4.5 billion dollars in improvements.
After ‘Pop-Off Politics’ aired, United Airlines Corporate Communications Manager Aubrey Jackson wrote us to say, “United Airlines is committed to providing the best travel experience to our customers and that includes investing in the $2.5B redevelopment of our Houston hub. We are eager for the Houston City Council to approve their portion of this project, so we can deliver on the numerous benefits to our customers and employees. We extend our gratitude to Mayor Turner for his support of the project and United’s continued investment in the city of Houston.”
Stream ‘Pop-Off Politics’ with Mario Diaz on KPRC 2 Now at 8 am every Tuesday. Exclusively on the KPRC 2+ livestream.