Ground Breaks on $224M Hotel in Portland

By Barbra Murray

Hyatt Regency Portland

The largest convention center in the Pacific Northwest will finally get a designated hotel now that ground has broken on the $224 million Hyatt Regency Portland. Mortenson is the developer and design-builder for the 600-key lodging destination, which will be owned and operated by an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corp.

The Hyatt will occupy two blocks just a stone’s throw from the 1 million-square-foot Convention Center, which will provide the hotel with a veritable built-in customer base. “Groups that viewed Portland as an attractive destination but just couldn’t manage the logistics of placing a large number of attendees all over the city sometimes opted for other venues, mainly because they offered the convenience of a large, upscale hotel. We know having the Hyatt directly across the street will help make the convention center an optimal choice,” Matt Pizzuti, deputy director of the Oregon Convention Center, said in a prepared statement.

The Hyatt is a public-private endeavor, with the developer providing $150 million of the project cost, and regional government agency Metro contributing a one-time investment of $74 million in the form of a $60 million Metro revenue bond, state lottery funds and Oregon Convention Center reserves.

Not just any hotel

Upon completion, the ESG Architects-designed Hyatt will feature 32,000 square feet of meeting venues, a bar and restaurant, a fitness center, and gathering areas for guests. The property will provide the coveted amenities found in convention center hotels, but it will be anything but a cookie-cutter lodging facility.

“When it comes to attracting guests to a particular hotel, the aim is to create an experience authentic to the character of the city, from the interiors, to the food, to the art, to the brand of coffee served. After all, it’s Portland’s dining scene, culture and proximity to other great getaways that have put it on the map as a destination city,” Dan Mehls, vice president & general manager with Mortenson, told Commercial Property Executive.

Not only do Mortenson, Metro and Hyatt Hotels expect the Hyatt to be a magnet for conventions, they anticipate that the new 14-story property will help attract thousands of new visitors to Portland and the region as a whole. The project will also bring new jobs to the city—950 permanent hotel, hospitality and tourism-related jobs, to be more precise.

Mortenson is now moving full steam ahead with the Hyatt, but the company continues to masterfully multitask. Among its other current projects is the 210-key Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton in downtown Phoenix. Mortenson plans to complete development of the Hyatt in 2019.

Image courtesy of ESG Architects