The Des Moines City Council has approved preliminary terms of a development agreement that would provide an estimated $1.4 million in tax increment financing for the conversion of a vacant Mercy Medical Center office building to a 91-room hotel at 207 Crocker St., near the Iowa Events Center and one block away from a 330-room convention center hotel that is scheduled to open March 21.

Matt Felling, general manager of that hotel, the Hilton Des Moines Downtown, said additional hotel rehabs and new constructions will bolster the city’s ability to attract large conventions and provide overflow rooms for the Hilton.

According to a report from the city’s Office of Economic Development, a group called 207 Crocker LLC is the developer. Ryan Jensen, a broker with CBRE|Hubbell Commercial, is identified as a managing member of the entity. 207 Crocker plans a $10.8 million project that includes a four-story addition on the west side of the proposed hotel, which will carry a Fairfield Inn flag.

The city’s TIF incentive would run for eight years, over which time the hotel is expected to generate $1.4 million in hotel/motel tax revenue.

In addition, the property will generate additional property tax revenue for the city. The property is currently assessed at slightly more than $3 million, but receives a charitable property exemption of $2.3 million, according the city report. Once completed, the property will have an estimated valuation of about $5.6 million.

In other action, the City Council approved selling 1 acre of property at Ninth Street and College Avenue to a development group led by Jake Christensen for the construction of a building where Children and Family Urban Movement will have its offices and provide a range of programs in the River Bend neighborhood.