Hyatt House work is back on track

After pausing construction for more than a year due to COVID, McKibbon Hospitality will top off its Hyatt House this month and is prepping for a fourth hotel in the Gateway Village Center just north of Orlando International Airport.

Lauren Bowls, vice president of communications for the Tampa-based hotel company, said the firm initially broke ground on the 6-story, 156-key Hyatt House in late 2019 but put the project on hold during the pandemic fall 2021 while it focused on other markets. Last year alone, McKibbon added 19 hotels to its portfolio, including five in the Tampa Bay market. Among the new properties are two Hyatt House hotels in Tampa and Tallahassee.

Bowles said the Hyatt House Orlando Airport is now scheduled to open in early 2023. “Usually a project takes about 18 months from the time we break ground, so it’s been significantly longer than that,” she said. “We’ve been on track since it started again.”

Hyatt House is a select-service, extended-stay brand that also features meeting and event space. “Many of the rooms are suites and also have full kitchenettes. So for the extended stay guests, there are kitchens, sofa beds and separate bedrooms, so they’re very accommodating for guests, as well as families,” Bowles said. All Hyatt House hotels are pet-friendly, too

J.B. McKibbon, vice president of asset management, filed a master plan request Feb. 11 with Orlando for a 5-story, 155-key hotel on a final available lot. The plans name AC Hotel as the new flag. Marriott currently has AC Hotels in Lake Buena Vista and downtown Orlando at Church Street Plaza.

This is a sampling of stories from GrowthSpotter, a premium subscription service from the Orlando Sentinel that focuses on the early stages of real estate development. To subscribe, go to GrowthSpotter.com