Hyatt redevelopment makes first appearance before city panel

As construction of its Ritz-Carlton Residences south tower in The Quay gets underway, developer Kolter Group, doing business as KT Sarasota Bay, has taken its first step toward the redevelopment of the Hyatt Regency property.

On Sept. 4, Kolter had its new submission meeting with the city’s Development Review Committee on its plans for a mixed-use project that includes 224 condominiums, 166 hotel rooms and 4,700 square feet of commercial space. The hotel will also have a 7,000-square-foot ballroom, which should come as welcomed news for meeting planners and others concerned about losing the Hyatt’s 10,000-square-foot meeting and special events space.

Photo by Andrew Warfield

The project is not within The Quay, but rather is adjacent to the property. Delray Beach-based Kolter Group acquired the Hyatt property in May 2022. It plans to continue to operate the hotel until it demolishes it to make way for what the company calls the east and west buildings of its three-tower campus, including the underway Ritz-Carlton Residences II. 

The hotel's replacement will be developed by Kolter Hospitality, a division of Kolter Group, and will operate under the Hyatt-branded Thompson Hotels flag. Hyatt acquired the parent group of the luxury hotel brand in 2018.

Schematic drawings of the two towers show the west building at a height of 273 feet and the east building at 243 feet. 

For the underway south tower, Kolter combined blocks 7 and 8 in The Quay plus the Hyatt surface parking lot. In January, Van Slyke, Kolter Group's regional vice president, told the Observer the timing of the redevelopment of the Hyatt was uncertain. 

Because the south tower, also known as Ritz-Carlton Residences II, is in The Quay, it required Planning Board approval. With the planned mixed-use development outside the metes and bounds of The Quay and zoned Downtown Bayfront, only administrative approval is needed. 

Photo by Andrew Warfield

Kolter would like to keep it that way, although one key feature of its submitted plan would require adjustment approval of the Planning Board. 

The project will be built in phases and plans are to relocate current parking access curb cut off Boulevard of the Arts. That, however, would require administrative adjustment approval or, if not granted, approval by the Planning Board. Because of the phasing of the towers, the developer was advised that the temporary certificates of occupancy it would need prior to completion of the entire project cannot be issued without that adjustment approval.

The two towers are planned to share that common entry off Boulevard of the Arts.

“We're looking for an administrative site plan approval. I'm sure that an administrative site plan approval would be sufficient for the TCO as well,” said attorney Brenda Patten. 

After being informed that the DRC comment was only advisory, Patten added, “We don’t intend to go before the City Commission or the Planning Board. There are some issues we're still going to discuss as to whether we can modify the plans to avoid the Planning Board adjustment. We'd like to try to get them all down as administrative or just eliminate them by making some changes to the plan.”

Three-tower campus

In January, Kolter revealed its intention to build a three-tower campus that encompasses Ritz-Carlton Residents II in The Quay plus two more towers on the Hyatt site that will include some shared amenities for condominium owners.

Photo by Andrew Warfield

Ritz-Carlton Residences I was the first building completed and occupied in The Quay, located next to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel that stands at the opposite end of the marina from the Hyatt site. 

Condominium owners in all of the new towers will have access to The Harbor Club along the marina, which will offer more than 20,000 square feet of common amenities in addition to the private amenities reserved for residents of each property.

When redevelopment of the Hyatt site is complete, Kolter Group will have developed all the properties along the east side and both ends of the 475-foot-long marina.

Prior to partial sign-off, the project will be required to make at least one re-submittal to the DRC. 

Correction: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Brenda Patten.