"Everyone’s pretty enthusiastic," WCCA spokesman Tony Robinson said of the response to the bond sale, which was $125 million less than the cap approved this summer by D.C. City Council and the Congress.

"We got (the financing period) down to 30 years instead of 34, and we got a lower interest rate than anyone expected," Robinson added.

In addition to the proceeds from the bond sale, WCCA will contribute $120 million of equity to fund the controversial $650-million center. The additional funds come from dedicated taxes on hotels and restaurants collected by the D.C. government specifically for the project.

The Shaw Coalition, an activist group opposed to the new convention center, has said it plans to file a class-action lawsuit against WCCA and the D.C. government claiming they illegally collected nearly $60 million in dedicated taxes for the construction. According to coalition member Beth Solomon, that $60 million is part of the $120 million WCCA currently has on hand.

The coalition hopes to prove that the D.C. government illegally collected dedicated taxes from the hotel industry after the terms of the legislation authorizing such collections had expired and before new legislation had been enacted.

Solomon said they haven’t filed the lawsuit yet because they are still looking for plaintiffs who stayed in hotels in the District during certain periods of time and have the receipts to prove it.

Solomon said she is not discouraged by the fact that the bond sale was completed and WCCA is planning its groundbreaking ceremonies for the first week in October.

"We are looking at a war of attrition and looking for a long fight," Solomon said. "We expect to fight it until we’re no longer able."

A General Accounting Office report prepared for Congress in July estimated a 34-year bond life at an interest rate of 5.6 percent that would result in an average cost to the city of $42.6 million to finance the bonds.

The bonds sold Sept. 15 have a maturity of 30 years at an interest rate of 5.18 percent.

"It’s much better than the gloom and doom we were hearing" from opponents of the center, Robinson said.

WCCA is planning two days of activities to celebrate the groundbreaking for the construction of the center. The formal groundbreaking ceremony will take place Friday, Oct. 2, at 10 a.m. in front of the Carnegie Library on L Street between 8th and 9th streets NW. President and Mrs. Clinton have been invited to the ceremony.

On Saturday, Oct. 3, WCCA will hold a festival featuring carnival rides, exhibits by local companies, a local artists’ showcase, historical tours and live entertainment. The festival will run from noon to 6 p.m.

Organizers have also planned a non-denominational prayer service and gospel concert for Sunday, Oct. 4, that will involve area churches, school choirs and national gospel recording artists. The events are scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. and end at 5 p.m.

Copyright 1998, The Common Denominator