A $16 million renovation meant to elevate the downtown Hyatt Regency to a top-flight, full-service hotel will begin "as soon as possible," officials say.
"Our goal is to make it shine again, you know?" said Hyatt general manager Jay Rettberg. "Be that exclamation point."
In a downtown looking to regain its pre-pandemic momentum, the project is a bright spot. The Hyatt has been a critical piece of local travel and tourism. Now it is an anchor in a hotel scene otherwise in flux. It is the largest hotel in the Center City since the Rochester Riverside closed in 2020. The Wyndham was the next largest until it, too, shut down this summer.
"For a city of our size with a population of our size, you know we're short about 1,000 hotel rooms from what we would ideally have," Deputy Mayor Michael Burns said. "And so, the rooms at the Hyatt are critical — as are the rooms over at the former Wyndham Hotel."
The Riverside and former Wyndham accounted for nearly half, almost 700, of all downtown hotel rooms. A lack of hotel capacity, made worse by the closures, has cost the city nearly $50 million in lost meeting business since 2022, according to VisitRochester estimates. And the buildings have become a blight in the heart of downtown — one ransacked, the other wrapped in corrugated steel to head off a similar plight.
"The hotels are telling us business is good, but it's going to the suburbs because of the lack of rooms downtown," said Don Jeffries, president and CEO of VisitRochester. "And instead of booking these giant groups that we usually book, now we're booking smaller groups, and they're single-property meetings."
Fix up and reopen the hotels, and that business will snap back, he said, adding: "We've got to get at least one of those two hotels open."
'A positive note'
The Hyatt underwent an $18 million overhaul in 2017, but Rettberg — seeking tax breaks from the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency —, told the group's board this week that "the product is tired. It's worn."
Planned investments will overhaul most every aspect of the 350-room hotel at the corner of East Main Street and South Avenue.
"With this renovation comes increases in average daily rate — substantial increases," Rettberg said, positioning the hotel to recapture banquets and other high-end bookings. "It's the right time to go after the piece of business we have slowly lost."
The drive-up entryway will get a new look. And there are planned improvements to security, valet, food service and the oft-troubled escalators. The hotel also will be adding staff.
"It's going to be such a positive note for that corner," Rettberg said, "and that corner just hasn't seen a positive note in quite some time."
The Riverside hotel complex, also including a vacant commercial building and a parking garage, sits kitty-corner to the Hyatt and is in shambles — awaiting its own, long-promised redevelopment. Both connect to the convention center on the southwest corner, which is in the early stages of a multi-phase renovation.
'The clock is ticking'
A 'Coming Soon' banner recently went up on the Riverside property, promising: "Modern Living. Prime Location. Endless possibilities."
Plans call for a scaled-down hotel and 170 apartments, with retail and restaurant space.
Developers Angelo Ingrassia and Buffalo-based Ellicott Development secured substantial tax breaks for the $61 million project, conditioned on the work being completed by December 2027. Construction was to start last year but has yet to begin.
"The clock is ticking," Burns said, adding that the conversation needs to turn from broken windows and graffiti to cranes in the air. But he added there have been "no ultimatums as of yet."
Ingrassia and Ellicott did not respond to messages seeking comment. Many of the upper-floor windows are broken, leaving vandalized rooms open to the elements. The building's electric system was badly damaged by fire in 2022.
"They're earnestly working toward getting the permits that they need to begin construction," Burns said. "But certainly, time is of the essence."
There is even less visible activity over at the former Wyndham hotel on State Street. The property is tied up in foreclosure and sits wrapped in corrugated steel behind barricades, a block from City Hall.
"What I'll say about Wyndham is this: It's imperative for downtown, for the city, for our hotel room situation, for that to come back online as soon as possible," Burns said, and with an owner capable of redeveloping and operating the property to a high standard. "I mean, we really need stability there."
A court-appointed receiver is now overseeing the property. And city officials are in regular conversation with Cogent Bank, which filed the foreclosure action. The lenders are similarly intent on getting the property back online, Burns said, casting the city's role as a facilitator for interested parties.
