Construction on a new 7-story Hyatt House with a pedestrian skyway connection to the Orange County Convention Center is moving forward after a key land sale and construction loan closing just before New Year’s.
New York-based GFI Capital Resources sold its 5-acre parcel at 6469 Westwood Blvd. to its development partner, The LCP Group, in December for $8.25 million. The transaction closed shortly after the two companies received a notice of commencement for the 274-key extended-stay hotel, which had been in the works since 2018.
Joel Rosen, president of GFI Hospitality, had initially sought approvals for a 300-room Le Meridian boutique concept, but revised the plan in 2022 for a Hyatt House flag. The brand offers apartment-style suites with fully equipped kitchens and separate living and sleeping areas. The Hyatt House Orlando Convention Center is designed to attract business and leisure travelers, so for this location, 40% of the units will be standard hotel rooms.
GFI Hospitality and The LCP Group are co-developing the 274-key Hyatt House Orlando Convention Center. (Rendering by Behar Peteranecz)
“So, there’s a ton of factors on why we stuck with this deal for a long time,” Rosen told GrowthSpotter. “Unfortunately, COVID slowed everything down, but we persevered, and now we’re at a stage where we’re all going to build it.”
The developers received $32.15 million in C-PACE financing from Minneapolis-based PACE Loan Group. The loan will cover energy-efficient HVAC, elevators, windows, high-efficiency
plumbing, lighting, and mechanical systems.
“We were thoughtful in how we structured this loan, maximizing the C-PACE proceeds after the energy audit was completed, which was after the initial term sheet was issued,”
said Jerry Ellis, Managing Director, and Head of Loan Structuring – PACE Loan Group. “This provided a more cost-effective capital stack for the sponsors.”
Cleveland Construction is the general contractor. The hotel is an expanded Hyatt House prototype designed by Behar Peteranecz. Rosen said the team will start clearing the property next week, and their target completion date will be in early 2028. Crescent Hotels, a national hospitality management firm, will operate and manage the property upon completion.
Orange County officials broke ground last month on the $560 million OCCC Grand Concourse expansion that will link the north and south buildings and add 44,000 square feet of meeting space and a new 100,000-square-foot ballroom. It’s the first of two expansions that will increase the facility’s size to 2.3 million square feet.
The new 274-key Hyatt House extended-stay hotel will be built at 6469 Westwood Boulevard, just off the entrance road to the Orange County Convention Center West Concourse. (Orange County Property Appraiser)
Rosen said the OCCC expansion was a trigger to activate the project. “It’s a great piece of dirt,” he said. “We like this location a lot. We think it’s pretty unique within the Orlando market and certainly in terms of availability around the convention center. You’ve got three major demand drivers there: the convention center, the new Universal Studios, Epic Park and SeaWorld.”
The hotel will feature an in-house restaurant and bar, as well as a pool, a fitness center, and meeting accommodations. Hyatt House hotels include complimentary breakfast and a grab-and-go market.
Rosen said the only revision from the 2022 plan was to relocate to the pool from the east side of the building to the west so it would get more daytime sun.
Hyatt House hotels all feature a full bar with a snack menu. (File image by Base4)
The hotel pad is located next to an already completed 250-room Tru Hotel and two parcels down from a 36-story, 1,000-room hotel and convention center planned for 6454 Westwood Blvd. SeaWorld also has plans for two hotels on the Discovery Cove section of the resort. The hotels, which will be the first built on the SeaWorld Orlando property, will consist of 250 and 504 rooms.
Nearby, RangeWater Real Estate is planning a 250-unit apartment community on a 7.3-acre parcel at 6305 Westwood Blvd.
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