Report: Gorman plans to raise $25M to help build hotel

ROCKFORD, July 15 — Mayor Larry Morrissey and Gary Gorman are heading to Shanghai on Wednesday in hopes to raise $25 million for the old Amerock building project. The plan by Gorman & Company is estimated to cost a total of $67 million.

According to the Rockford Register Star, the two are headed to China with PowerPoint slides and sales pitches to court wealthy investors looking for U.S. visas. Even though the demand for visas is high, there is immense competition by other companies, especially with the recent 28 percent decline in the Chinese financial market last week.

The Register Star states that Mayor Morrissey is accompanying Gorman to be a political dignitary, which is highly revered in the Chinese culture. Carrie Zethmayr of the RAEDC was quoted, “It’s a culture thing. Government has a strong presence in everything that takes place there. Projects without government support are difficult to make happen over there.”

In addition to Mayor Morrissey going to China, Gorman will promote Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway company as an equity investor. This should help to influence investors because the Buffet name and his company are worldwide brands.

Read the full article here.