Ensemble Breaks Ground on Hyatt Place Hotel in SF Bay Area

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor 

Ensemble Hotel Partners has broken ground on Hyatt Place Emeryville/San Francisco Bay Area, a 175-room, upscale, select service hotel in Emeryville, Calif.

Located at the northern end of Bay Street Emeryville, the hotel features a contemporary design that will complement its unique surroundings. It’s the first hotel to be built in the community in more than 10 years.

“Hyatt Place Emeryville/San Francisco Bay Area exemplifies our keen focus on embedded development by pursuing opportunities within booming, well-located retail centers, and working with the owners and other stakeholders to design a hotel that adds tremendous value to the surrounding community,” Brian Ehrlich, Ensemble Hotel Partners’ chief investment officer, said in a company statement. “Our goal is to use our signature expertise and creativity to bring the right product to the right location, and we are delighted that it will both serve and support local businesses.”

The new Hyatt Place will feature extensive use of glass and brick to reflect Emeryville’s industrial architectural heritage. It will be integrated into the Bay Street Emeryville retail center through a landscaped outdoor patio that will extend the mall into the hotel.

The guestrooms will feature a swiveling 42-inch HDTV, a plush Hyatt Grand Bed, Cozy Corner sectional sofa, mini-fridge and a separate workspace. Hotel amenities include a 24-hour gym, a 24/7 gallery menu and a coffee-to-cocktails bar serving Starbucks specialty coffees and teas, premium beer, wine, and drinks; and complimentary a.m. Kitchen Skillet breakfast for guests.

A recent report by Marcus & Millichap shows that the hospitality market in California is red hot these days with monthly occupancy in San Francisco topping 90 percent two times last year and surpassing 80 percent on eight other occasions.

According to the report, a diverse array of demand drivers and relatively restrained hotel construction will push up occupancy and strengthen RevPAR throughout the state in 2015.

“Riding the tailwinds generated by a growing economy, the major metros in the state continue to boast some of the tightest occupancies in the entire country,” the report stated. “Regulations restraining the influence of Airbnb will also help maintain a level playing field for hotel owners this year.”

DavisReed Construction will provide design/build construction services for the project, while RIM Hospitality will manage the hotel.

Hyatt Place Emeryville/San Francisco Bay Area is slated to open for business in the third quarter of 2016.