DDRB to review plans for proposed Downtown Hyatt Place hotel

The Downtown Development Review Board will review a pair of hotel projects at its monthly meeting Aug. 30.

It will be the first time the board has a chance to look at conceptual renderings for the Hyatt Place hotel proposed Downtown along Independent Drive at Hogan Street.

The board meets 2 p.m. Aug. 30 in a first-floor conference room at City Hall at 117 W. Duval St.

Mainstreet CV 76 S Laura St. LLC proposes a nine-story, 128-room, 102,256-square-foot hotel for a 0.27-acre property also known as the Sister Cities Parcel.

According to plans submitted to the DDRB on Friday, the limited-service hotel will have a mix of double queen and single king rooms on seven floors.

The main entrance would face Independent Drive and the Jacksonville Landing. The development group plans to use on-street parking along Hogan Street and the 612-space parking garage directly behind the hotel site.

Plans show a ground floor lobby with a customer lounge, office and laundry space. The first floor also features meeting space and a restaurant and bar area.

A pool and deck is planned for the second level, along with a fitness center.

Plans show a 902-square-foot rooftop patio and 901-square-foot event space.

The developer acquired the parcel from Parador Partners LLC in April, assuming a 2011 economic development agreement between Parador and the Downtown Investment Authority.

Parador built the parking garage with the intent of developing the Sister Cities Parcel, but those plans never materialized.

Mainstreet CV 76 S Laura St LLC is a subsidiary of Fort Lauderdale-based Mainstreet Capital Partners.

The company, along with CarVal Investors LLC, sold the neighboring 23-story tower and garage to VyStar Credit Union for $59 million July 31.

The groups purchased the properties in 2015 for $31.1 million.

Mainstreet will seek conceptual approval from the DDRB and will need to come back in the following months for a final design approval.

Residence Inn seeks final approval

Another hotel planned for the Brooklyn neighborhood also could be approved by the DDRB.

In July, the board tentatively granted conceptual approval for a 135-room Residence Inn by Marriott Hotel at the southeast corner of Forest and Magnolia Streets, across from Unity Plaza and 220 Riverside.

Baywood Hotels Inc. wants to develop the hotel, along with Parkview Plaza Partners, on 1.83 acres.

Board members were critical of the site plan at their June meeting, saying the design wasn’t urban enough and had too much surface parking for the Brooklyn neighborhood.

Members Rafael Caldera and Carol Worsham voted against the project in July, saying it needed more pedestrian-friendly elements and a more urban look.

Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow attorney Steve Diebenow said design options are limited because of surrounding property owners who control parts of the same block.

Specifically, L O Properties controls a quarter-acre site along Oak Street in the center of the hotel site.

Boca Raton-based architectural and engineering firm Base 4 International Inc. had to wrap the hotel and parking spaces around the L O Properties site.

Engineers also pushed the building further back from Forest Street because of underground utilities running through part of the property.

Final DDRB design approval is the last step the development group needs before it can start applying for permits.

In 2015, the Downtown Investment Authority approved an economic development agreement with Parkview Plaza Partners that includes a 20-year Recapture Enhanced Value grant worth up to $3.7 million. The grant represents 75 percent of the ad valorem taxes generated from the project.

According to that document, the estimated total development cost is $22.98 million, with a minimum capital investment of $17.5 million from the company.

When completed, the more than 110,000-square-foot hotel will feature a rooftop pool and deck, fitness center and other amenities.