Nov. 09–TAMPA — HRI Properties has closed on its $7.6 million purchase of a city-owned block next to Tampa's City Hall and says it plans to start construction later this month on a dual-branded Hyatt Place and Hyatt House hotel project.
In 2016, Tampa put out a request for development proposals for the 1 acre that it owned at the corner of E Kennedy Boulevard and N Florida Avenue, formerly the site of the Cold Storage Cafe.
When the city selected New Orleans-based HRI Properties over two other bidders, the company said it liked Tampa for its strong job creation and its impressive numbers on hotel revenue per available room. Having a whole city block available at the center of downtown also appealed to HRI, which had previously submitted a proposal to redevelop the old federal courthouse on N Florida Avenue.
Expected to open in late 2020, HRI's project consists of a combined 17-story, 230-room Hyatt Place hotel and a 115-room Hyatt House hotel, with approximately 4,000 square feet of meeting space, 3,200 square feet of ground floor retail space and 220-space public parking garage.
"The project will be a great addition to Tampa's central business district — creating 110 full-time positions and helping attract new business and leisure visitors to the local area," HRI Properties president and CEO A. Thomas Leonhard Jr. said in an announcement of the project.
Contact Richard Danielson at [email protected] or (813) 226-3403. Follow @Danielson_Times
