AMARILLO -- Downtown Amarillo has rung in the year auspiciously.

At least that is the hope of downtown revitalization planners who have welcomed a major addition to the city's downtown business landscape.

It comes in the form of a 107-room hotel that will cater to business people traveling to Amarillo. It's in the historic Fisk Building, which now has a new name: The Courtyard by Marriott at the Historic Fisk.

Yes, it's a mouthful, but who cares if the project takes off and fulfills planners' dreams of helping revitalize the central business district?

The project is the result of some incentives granted by the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone board to Newcrest Hotels, Ltd., which developed the Marriott at the Fisk. The developers received $1.65 million in tax abatements over the next 10 years, plus $70,000 to pay for public improvements around the exterior of the building. (full story)