Governor does not rule out use of CDBG-DR funds for Normandie project

By The Star Staff

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia on Monday did not rule out that the reconstruction of the Normandie Hotel in San Juan benefits from federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds, among other government aid.

“If they need government incentives, there are programs,” the governor said in response to questions from the press. “There are the tax credit programs, there are the income tax incentives, and there is the possibility of applying for support from the CDBG-DR support program.”

“But, as I said, giving incentives greater than $50 million to any project has not been considered,” he added, noting that incentives are provided “never exceeding 40 percent of the value of the project.”

Asked if the purchase of the property was conditional on government aid, Pierluisi replied that “no, no, not to my knowledge.”

The Normandie Hotel was purchased for $8.6 million by Ezra Ishay, who recently estimated that the cost of renovation could reach $100 million.