City leaders voted to examine the construction of up to 200,000-sf of conference center buildings, an up to 500-room hotel, and restaurants and retail uses on public property along Big Beaver Road, across from the city hall.The developers are local firm Frankel Associates, Liberty Property Trust of Pennsylvania, Garfield Traub of Texas, Acquest Realty Advisors of Detroit, Hines of Texas, Marriott of New York.

If letters come in, Szerlag said the city will take them to the Michigan Economic Development Corp., a public-private agency that provides loans and grants to new and expanding companies. "We would go to the state and request a commitment letter," Szerlag said.

The city hopes to receive $50 million from the MEDC for conference center development, which would bring a second conference center to the suburbs of Detroit, where most businesses are based.The city would pay more than half a million dollars for infrastructure for the development, and the Troy Downtown Development Authority would pay around $9 million. Both public and private dollars will make up the difference in the construction costs.

If the MEDC comes on board, the city would then put the project out to a public vote. Troy voters would have to approve of the sale of part of the land for the project. Requests for proposals would then go out in earnest, Szerlag said.

However, if developers don't feel the project can be built, the Troy City Council would have to go back to the drawing board, Szerlag said.The council left out an office component to the project. Mayor Matt Pryor said he would like to bring back the offices to the development.

The city would likely hire a management company to run the two facilities, but would keep ownership of the project and pay off construction bonds. Raymond Garfield, president of Garfield Traub, said he's excited about joining the project.

Garfield just completed a convention center in Overland Park, Kan. near Kansas City, a $130 million hotel and conference center for Bay City, MI, and a 300-room hotel in South Carolina."We're very interested in working with Troy in helping them achieve their goals," said Garfield.