Issue date: 11/19/08 Section: NEWS

Media Credit: Genevieve Morrissy This vacant hotel, which used to be The Radisson, towers over the NT athletic facilities across Interstate 35 E.

NT is reviewing about 60 bids to lease the former Radisson Hotel on Interstate 35E.

The companies, which have yet to be named, are vying for a lease of the 150-room hotel, which, until recently, had a fate that was up in the air.

The companies are using surveys to decide whether it would be cheaper to demolish the hotel and build a new one or to renovate the existing hotel. The plans still call for at least 150 rooms, NT spokesman Buddy Price said. There is also a proposal for a convention center as part of the property.

There is no deadline for NT's review process, Price said, but it could be as early as January. When the decision is made, the university will publicly release some of the most prominent bidders.

Price said NT has not decided how much the bidder who gets the lease will pay, but it will be on a monthly basis.

Glen Haubold, director of facilities maintenance, said his department does some upkeep of the grounds and the building. Most of the furniture, including the beds, is still in the hotel. Haubold said maintenance would remove the artwork soon, but there is no timetable for removal of the furniture.

According to the Request for Proposal for bidders, NT is not allowed to enter a partnership with a private company to run the hotel.

"It would provide a gateway to the campus," Price said. "That's a prime piece of real estate."

The property that will be leased will not include the former golf course, which has since become NT property.

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