This $45 million facility opened in 2004 and has not only met, but exceeded, conservative operating and financial projections prepared by Mr. Bleinberger. The public / private partnership between Davis County and a private sector hotel developer-operator resulted after two feasibility studies by other consulting firms delivered negative findings. Revisiting the prior market analyses, Mr. Bleinberger determined that the demand potential of nearby Hill Airforce base had been largely ignored, and that the conceptual model being tested was not appropriate to capturing demand.
What emerged was an appropriately sized, high-tech, publicly funded conference facility, functionally integrated into a privately funded hotel property. The result has become an anchor of economic activity for Davis County and proven its financial sustainability over time. The project has spurred nearby development of several restaurants, office and commercial space, and even multi-family residential development that has been attracted to the cluster of activity.
The Davis County Conference Center and Hilton Garden Inn, located in Layton, Utah, approximately 30-miles north of Salt Lake City, resulted from pragmatic market analysis, financial feasibility analysis, proactive developer solicitation, and negotiation of a public / private partnership that has proved beneficial to all parties.