Nov. 3--The city of Fayetteville may have new tax guidelines by the end of this year to help lure a luxury hotel.

Kristoff Bauer, an assistant city manager, said Monday the policy is intended to help close any financial gap that may hinder private investors from building a multimillion dollar hotel with meeting space.

Although no such projects have been identified yet, city and county officials are bracing for unprecedented growth associated with base realignment.

The Army Forces Command is relocating to Fort Bragg by 2011. Some of the Army's top brass and thousands of new soldiers and their family members are moving to the region.

Bauer told the City Council during its work session Monday that he would present a final draft of the new policy later this month or by December. The council will vote then on whether to adopt the policy.

The BRAC Regional Task Force says Fayetteville needs a four-diamond or five-diamond hotel.

AAA, an auto and travel club, ranks hotels on a scale of one to five diamonds. Most hotels participate, and travelers often use the rankings for guidance.

None of the hotels in Cumberland County have four or five diamonds, although about a dozen are rated with three diamonds.

One potential investor is Neil Flavin, president of Five Points Hospitality. His company manages the Hilton Garden Inn on Sycamore Dairy Road and the Holiday Inn Express on Skibo Road. Both are rated three diamonds.

The incentives being drafted will include property tax grant-backs -- which the city already has approved for a $20 million luxury apartment complex called the Bellagio on Bragg Boulevard -- and money spent to improve infrastructure such as roads and utility lines.

Bauer said any other incentives that the state allows will also be on the bargaining table. He said the market now doesn't support such a hotel. Before any public money is spent, he said, the city will have to show that such a project couldn't be built without the incentives.

If the plan is adopted, the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce will be responsible for negotiating the terms and the city and county will be asked to approve them.

Staff writer Andrew Barksdale can be reached at barksdalea@fayobserver.com or 486-3565.

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