Teaming up to promote economic development with a local economic advocacy group, Washington’s city council voted to accept a loan for a project that could have a big payoff.

Council members voted to accept a $25,000 loan from the Beaufort County Committee of 100. The money will be used for an University of North Carolina School of Government Development Finance Initiative project. According to the UNC website, The Development Finance Initiative (DFI) at the School of Government partners with local governments in North Carolina to attract private investment for “transformative projects by providing specialized finance and development expertise.”

For Washington, that means putting together a downtown redevelopment package that focuses specifically on a waterfront hotel, according to Brian Alligood, Washington’s city manager.

As part of the package, the School of Government takes on the development aspect of a project — in this case, a downtown hotel. Being able to hand that part of a project to potential developers cuts down on time and costs involved with construction, which is a big draw to investors.

“Typically, developers spend three percent of construction on development,” Alligood said.

School of Government does the work and charges the developer who signs on with deal less: 1 percent of construction costs, Alligood said.

Alligood said the Committee of 100 was asked to support the initial phase of the project, one that comes with a $25,000 price tag. The Committee of 100, a private, non-profit organization of community and business leaders, looks for ways to improve job opportunities in the county, according to the organization’s website. If the potential end result for the DFI project is a downtown hotel and the jobs it would bring to the area, the project falls in line with the Committee of 100 mission.

At the end of three years, the city will either repay the cost of the loan or, depending on whether the goal of securing a hotel has been met, may waive the fee entirely, Alligood said.