May 14– May 14–GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Construction workers were busy Tuesday inside the Hyatt Place Hotel at 140 Ottawa Ave. NW in downtown Grand Rapids as they prepared the 12-story, 160-room building for its grand opening in September.
"It's a mad dash for the end over the next couple months," said Jason Wheeler, a spokesperson for Orion Construction, the firm overseeing the development of the $35 million hotel.
Workers broke ground on the project, which includes an adjacent 15-story office building and 430-space parking garage, in June 2017 and are now in the process of finishing the building's interior. Floor, ceiling and wall coverings are being installed in the rooms. Bathrooms are in the process of being outfitted with showers, sinks and toilets.
And over the next few weeks, furniture, art and other amenities will arrive for the rooms, some of which offer sweeping views of the downtown skyline.
"I love the views from up here," Wheeler said, as he stood in a corner room on the hotel's 12th floor and pointed out downtown landmarks such as Rosa Parks Circle and the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.
Orion Real Estate Solutions, along with a group of investors, owns the hotel. The property is being managed by AHC+Hospitality, a Grand Rapids-based company that also operates the Amway Grand Plaza, JW Marriott and Courtyard by Marriott.
The Hyatt Place is expected to open to the public in mid-September, Wheeler said. It will open its doors in the midst of a hotel building boom in downtown Grand Rapids, with more than 800 new rooms expected to come online in the next few years.
For example, a grand opening for a 130-room AC Hotel by Marriott is scheduled for June 3. And a 250-room Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel at 710 Monroe Ave. NW opened last month. More properties, such as a Marriott Residence Inn at 10 Ionia Ave. NW, are under construction.
Wheeler acknowledged that the hotel market is competitive. But he said he thinks the Hyatt Place will be able to attract plenty of customers, noting features such as pet-friendly rooms, a 24-hour restaurant on the building's second floor, as well as an abundance of events and activities in the city.
"It's always going to be a challenge, and the cream will rise to the top," he said.
Rooms are expected to cost between $239 to $279 a night.
The hotel will also feature a 5,300-square-foot ground floor restaurant, which Wheeler estimated could seat between 120 and 140 people. The restaurant's concept and name has not been. While the Hyatt's second floor-restaurant will cater to hotel guests, the first floor space is geared toward the downtown lunch and dinner crowd, as well as other visitors, he said.
