Coronavirus causes delay in Haymarket hotel construction

Construction on the Hilton Hotel in the town of Haymarket has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The hotel was originally expected to open in early 2021. 

During their meeting on Tuesday, May 26, the town council discussed the addition of a new item to their Fiscal Year 2021 budget. This item is a Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) which would have been paid on temporary lodging at hotels. 

However, due to the delayed construction of what would be the town’s only hotel, the TOT may need to be adjusted or removed from the town’s budget for FY21. 

This delay also delays Haymarket’s plan to launch a tourism advertising campaign, which would have been funded in part from the TOT. Business Manager Chris Coon explained how the coronavirus will affect these budget items:

“These funds would not be spent until there is revenue received, thus we would work on multiple options and then have to decide when the revenue was received. I know that the hotel has been delayed and pending updates, those items may need to be adjusted or removed from our Fiscal Year 2020-2021 budget,” Coon said.

Residential Taxes

Haymarket residents are expected to see lower residential tax bills for FY21. 

The tax rate dropped from $1.361 per $100 assessed value to $1.261 per $100 assessed value. The average residential tax bill should be reduced by $2.26 based on these numbers, coming out to $4877.82.

Coon noted that assessments from Prince William County would ultimately dictate how each property is affected, however.

Of the FY21’s $2 million budget, residents can also look forward to seeing $80,000 dedicated to town events and $100,000 dedicated to community development.