Sneak peek: Look inside Hyatt Centric at One Beale
New hotel expected to open at the end of March
When people step into the Hyatt Centric hotel on Beale, the hotel staff want them to feel like it’s a natural extension of the famous street they just stepped off.
“Our goal: bring in the sights and sounds of Memphis,” said Nicholas Janysek, director of sales and marketing for the hotel.
The hotel is the first of three that will open at the massive One Beale project being developed by Chance Carlisle and James Maclin at the corner of Beale and Front streets. It’s expected to open at the end of March, with the rooftop bar slated to open two weeks later.
The new 227-room hotel will incorporate one of Downtown Memphis’ longvacant historic properties, the William C. Ellis and Sons Ironworks and Machine Shop on Front Street, which has been adapted into a meeting space for the hotel property. It will also connect the Hyatt Centric to the future Hyatt Caption.
Encompassing a 4,550-square-foot ballroom and smaller breakout meeting rooms, the Ironworks building also provided décor — salvaged items were incorporated into the lobby desk — and room inspiration. The wallpaper in standard king and double queen guest rooms shows enlarged photographs of items from the Ironworks building.
Hotel décor is also meant to be evocative of the wider community, Janysek said, a pillar of what the hotel team wanted to accomplish.
“Really being local and inspired by where you are. And being the first hotel on Beale Street but also being right on the river, you’ll see a lot of that coming in,” he said.
Guest floors have light fixtures shaped like clef notes and carpeting meant to mimic soundwaves. Shower doors in the king rooms are covered with the names of different Memphis neighborhoods and attractions. A stage fills the space between the resort-style pool and the edge of the property, ready to welcome bands and DJS.
On the ground floor, the lobby area flows into a grab-and-go market space offering sandwiches and coffee and opens up into a lounge area associated with the property’s three-meal restaurant, CIMAS.
The menu for the Latin American-inspired restaurant, which will be able to seat about 100 people between indoor and outdoor tables, all with river views, is still in development. So is the menu for the rooftop bar, which will feature craft cocktails and small plates, Janysek said.
The rooftop also has seating for about 100 between indoor and outdoor areas and the wraparound deck has panoramic views of Downtown and the river. Floor-to-ceiling windows can open up during good weather.
“On those great days, you can open them and get the breeze and really activate that indoor-outdoor feel,” he said.
Once complete, the entire One Beale project will include more than 700 rooms between the three hotels, which are expected to employ more than 1,000 people. In December, the fourth phase of the project was approved for an incentive package including a $65 million payment-in-lieu-of-taxes incentive. Phase four includes the 350-room, $191 million Grand Hyatt hotel. Construction is slated to begin in October 2022 and wrap up in late 2023 or early 2024.
As part of that incentive package, the developers offered room block guarantees at the Grand Hyatt for the Renasant Convention Center. That room block guarantee will apply to the Hyatt Centric until the Grand Hyatt opens.
Developers also received PILOT incentives for the Hyatt Centric, the Hyatt Caption and the Landing, the 232-unit apartment complex at One Beale. Residents started moving into the apartments earlier this year.