US Senator Lindsey Graham has criticised a development proposed for a beachfront condominium in the US capital that has the potential to cost the taxpayer billions of dollars.
The development, known as The Palace, will see the development of a 12-storey luxury hotel and office tower at the waterfront site of the former Bristol and Bristol Condominiums.
It has been proposed for The Palace project, which has been put forward by developers Lendlease and Osprey Partners, and will also include a hotel, office tower and other buildings on the site.
Graham, a Republican, has been vocal about the development and called for an inquiry into the project, describing it as “a disgrace” to the city of Bristol.
He also said he would consider holding hearings into the development, which is being built on the former site of The Citadel, which was the former home of Bristol’s first hospital.
“I think its a disgrace.
I think it will be a disaster.
And I think the people of Bristol, the people that live in Bristol, I think they deserve answers about this,” Graham said.”
And if they’re going to be given a deal, I’m not going to stand by and let them have this luxury, this luxury at the expense of the people who live here.”
Graham said he was concerned the project would “cost the taxpayer millions of dollars” and would have an impact on the “tangible assets that have been built on this site”.
Lendlease declined to comment on the project when contacted by Business Insider.
The Palace project is the first major new development in the Bristol region for Lendlelease and a second developer is considering building a similar luxury hotel on the same site.
Lendleleased has already committed $1.5bn for the development in a deal that will see its property value rise from $1 billion to $2.5 billion.
The project, with a total of 11 floors of retail space and five residential towers, is set to have an annual value of about $3.8bn.
Graham said the development was “one of the most expensive projects in Bristol history” and that the project was “not a good investment”.
“It’s just one of the biggest luxury developments in the world,” he said.
Langford Councillor Michael Deacon, a member of the Bristol City Council’s planning and development committee, said that Graham’s comments were “outrageous”.
“He’s saying that the cost of a hotel is cheaper than the cost to live in the city,” Deacon said.
“The project’s a complete disaster.
This is an absolutely disgrace.”
The Bristol City Planning and Development Commission has also said that Lendleasing’s proposal for The Royal Palace has been withdrawn.LENDlease has said that the hotel would be a “luxury” hotel that would be the most cost-effective way of “creating a sustainable and sustainable city”, but Deacon has said this is not the case.
“It doesn’t make sense to have this development, this $2bn project on the waterfront,” Deacons comments.
“It’s a disaster, and the whole waterfront is a disaster because of the luxury hotel that will be built there.”
The city’s a huge investment in the future, it will provide a vital element to this.