Public funding for one of Madison’s most highly contested building projects came to a close Tuesday night when the City Council halted plans for the redevelopment of the historic Edgewater hotel in a tie vote.

The vote over whether to provide $16 million worth of tax incremental financing to the project was a 10-10 split. Ald. Lisa Subeck, District 1, passed on the vote at the beginning of the process and was revisited at the end of voting. She provided the final and definitive no.

Mayor Paul Soglin declined to provide a tiebreaker vote, rendering one of Madison’s most divisive topics in recent city politics a no-go.

The Edgewater project has been a topic of city discussion since 2009 and has been reviewed by city committees over 50 times.

Ald. Marsha Rummel, District 6, said after the vote that she had been unable to justify putting $16 million worth of TIF funding toward the Edgewater when that money would be better spent elsewhere.

“I want $16 million to create over $100 million of spinoff, including living wage jobs,” she said. “In principle, I support rehabilitating the Edgewater, but I want more than just hotel jobs out of this money.”

Ald. Mark Clear, District 19, who was one of Edgewater’s leading supporters, called the decision a “job-killer.”

“I’m very disappointed,” he said. “I can barely form full sentences – this decision is as bad for downtown as losing the train was.”

Clear said he had “no idea” why Soglin declined to vote, but added that it would have made no difference.

“The mayor would have been a no,” he said. “Nothing would have changed.”

Soglin’s position on Edgewater development has been shaky since the project’s beginning.

Edgewater developer Robert Dunn announced over the weekend that he had secured private financing for the project.

Soglin expressed concern about that funding Tuesday, telling Dunn that he had a list of several concerns about the project.

Were Dunn not able to remedy the mayor’s concerns by the end of the year, City Attorney Michael May said, TIF funding would likely fall through.

May reviewed those concerns Tuesday night, saying that the project’s success would be contingent on four tasks. These tasks included providing proof of financing, providing construction contracts to negotiate TIF, providing TIF financing documents and a borrowing resolution.

May said it was highly unlikely that developers would be able to complete all four tasks before the end of the year. Dunn agreed.

“Based on other projects I’ve done that have included public financing, that’s probably unrealistic,” Dunn said.

Had the Edgewater project succeeded, it would have received the second-highest amount of TIF financing in history, after the Lot 89 development project, city Finance Director Dave Schmiedicke said.

The decision came following hours of testimony from dozens of Madison residents and the 20 city council members.

Judy Karofsky, a member of the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center board, said Edgewater was an “economic engine” for the city.

“When times get touch, the tough create value and jobs,” she said.

On the opposing side, Bill Wellman, general manager of the Dahlmann Campus Inn, said he was concerned about the project’s ability to succeed and follow through with the payback of its TIF loan.

Pending further notice, the city has seen the last of Edgewater discussions after years of controversy.