Last summer, you could buy the old Hyatt Regency piece by piece: beds, lamps, televisions, mini-fridges, robes and other remnants of a bayfront hotel that had been part of the city’s waterfront since the 1970s. Once emptied, the 10-storied tower was demolished.

Now, the next version of the property is coming into view.

Kolter Urban has released new interior renderings for Hyatt Centric Harborside, the 20-story, 174-room hotel and 117 condo project located at 1000 Boulevard of the Arts. The mixed-use tower will sit by The Bay Park on Boulevard of the Arts and Quay Commons in downtown Sarasota.

The project is part of the redevelopment of the former Hyatt Regency Sarasota property, which Kolter’s acquisition entity, Sarasota Hotel Acquisition Group LLC, purchased on July 1, 2022, for $30,674,400, according to county property records.

The tower will include the Hyatt Centric Harborside hotel and 117 condominium residences overlooking the bay. Ed Jahn, senior vice president for Kolter Urban, says the newly released images are intended to show what will actually be built, not simply what might look good in a sales package.

“What you’re seeing in the renderings is what’s going to be delivered,” Jahn says. 

The interiors include curved forms, terrazzo and wood flooring, warm wood accents, tropical planting, decorative lighting and natural materials meant to reflect the waterfront setting.

The Hyatt Centric component will include 174 guest rooms, with rooms planned for levels six through 14. Jahn describes the building as L-shaped, with the hotel occupying the first 14 floors of the harbor-side leg of the tower. Above that, floors 15 through 20 will contain condominium residences. The other leg of the building, along Boulevard of the Arts, will be all residential.

Although the hotel and condos will be in the same tower, Jahn says the two uses are being designed to operate separately, with separate lobbies, elevators, stairwells and amenities. “A lot of times buyers think they'll have hotel guests in the condo part and vice versa," he says. "That’s not the way it’s going to be.”

The hotel will have its own pool and amenities. The condominium side will have its own pool, hot tub, club room, fitness center, business hub, sports simulator, elevated pool deck with cabanas and a spa, outdoor seating and dining areas, an outdoor kitchen, a private dog park and a residents’ news café.

The residences will include private terraces up to 10 feet deep, ceilings up to 10 feet high, full-height sliding glass doors and kitchens with European cabinetry, quartz countertops and stainless-steel appliances. Bathrooms are planned with European cabinetry, quartz countertops and soaking tubs.

The hotel will also include more than 7,000 square feet of flexible event space, including a ballroom for weddings, small conferences and business meetings. “The weddings will be a big thing that people will do at the hotel, especially being on the waterfront on the harbor,” Jahn says.

A ground-floor restaurant is planned on the north side of the tower and will be open to the public. Jahn says an operator has not yet been selected. The concept could be a steakhouse, seafood restaurant or another high-end restaurant, he says.

Jahn says the Hyatt Centric Harborside's condos are just over 20 percent sold. Prices start at about $1.4 million and go up to about $4.5 million, with units ranging from 1,400 square feet to 3,100 square feet. Floorplans range from one-bedroom and one-bedroom-plus-den residences to three-bedroom-plus-den residences.

Kolter expects to break ground by the end of the third quarter, Jahn says. The project is estimated to be completed in December 2028.

The project arrives as downtown Sarasota is seeing more proposals that mix hotel rooms, condominium residences, branded hospitality and short-term-rental flexibility. SOTA Hotel & Residences, planned for Main Street, includes a boutique hotel and private residences. The Well Sarasota, proposed near Selby Gardens, has been revised as a condo/hotel project. Saravela, planned on North Tamiami Trail nearby, is marketing condominium residences with short-term rental flexibility.

The tower is also planned near 1000 North Sarasota, a members-only dining club tied to the 1000 North brand founded in Jupiter, FL, by Michael Jordan, Ernie Els and others.

To Jahn, it's all about location. “This hotel and condo residence is on the harbor of Sarasota Bay,” he says. “It has access to boating, boating taxis and services" and is a "close to downtown without being in the middle of it." Kolter Urban is also building its second Ritz-Carlton condominium tower nearby, which Jahn says is expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter of this year.