NEW ORLEANS-The Hyatt Regency New Orleans, one of most visual representations of Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath, will undergo a multi-million dollar redevelopment and will reopen in fall 2011. The 1,193-room property has been closed since December 2005.
Poydras Properties Hotel Holdings, a hospitality venture that includes AREA Property Partners, Poydras Hotel Members LLC, and a subsidiary of Hyatt are collaborating to redevelop the property. AREA Property Partners and Poydras Hotel Members acquired the hotel in December
2007.
“It was always our intention to redevelop and reopen the hotel with Hyatt as the partner and manager,” says John Jacobsson, the North America opportunity funds business leader for AREA Property Partners. “The difficulty has been the financing. It has taken us longer than we hoped to pull together all the pieces of the financing, but now we have and the redevelopment is moving forward.” He declined to name the lender that is providing the redevelopment financing.
Located adjacent to the Louisiana Superdome, The Hyatt Regency New Orleans is one of the city’s largest hotels. First opened in 1976, the hotel was a popular New Orleans destination for business and leisure travelers prior to Hurricane Katrina. After the storm, the hotel served as a primary support location for state, local and federal agencies during one of the most difficult times in the city’s history.
The transformation and reopening of Hyatt Regency New Orleans is part of an economic development plan designed by the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission and New Orleans Downtown Development District to revitalize New Orleans’ CBD over the next several years.
Looney & Associates is handling the design for the redevelopment project. Jacobsson tells GlobeSt. that the Dallas-based firm has worked on two other AREA Property Partners’ projects in Orlando – the Omni Resort at Championsgate and the Hilton Orange County Convention Center, which opened last September.
Local firm DonahueFavret Contractors Inc. will serve as the general contractor, along with WELBRO Building Corp., which has also worked with AREA Property Partners previously.
Jacobsson says the redevelopment of the Hyatt Regency New Orleans will include the renovation of all the guest rooms and lobby, along with the upgrade and expansion of all meeting space. Plans call for the hotel entry to be reoriented to make it more open toward Loyola Street, which has never been a major access point for the hotel.
After the redevelopment, the hotel will have 53 suites. Additionally, the hotel’s 200,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space will include two 25,000 square-foot ballrooms, 80,000 square feet of exhibition space, 60 banquet and meeting rooms and an executive meeting level.
The food and beverage offerings will include a 350-seat, full-service restaurant with private and semi private dining rooms; a 210-seat media/action bar with private and semi-private lounges; a 70-seat atrium bar; a 2,000 square-foot full service coffee bar; a 24-hour convenience store featuring fresh food items and a 7,600 square-foot specialty restaurant.
Immediately upon opening, Hyatt Regency New Orleans will be in position to headquarter upcoming major national sporting events planned for the city.
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