The new Hyatt Place hotel in downtown Royal Oak is scheduled to open next week, marking completion of the first half of a long-awaited $60 million development. The six-floor, 120-room hotel at 422 N. Main St. will be guest-ready on Nov. 8, in plenty of time for the Thanksgiving holiday, while crews aim to finish the roof of the adjacent eight-story apartment complex by the end of November, said Chris Abbo, vice president of Madison Heights-based Namou Hotel Group, which will operate the Hyatt. The 101,111-square-foot hotel space includes 4,700 square feet of restaurant or retail space on the ground floor. Abbo said owners hope to have a tenant signed by the end of the year, most likely one restaurant occupying the entire space. Taking up the whole 20,000-square-foot second floor of the hotel is Luxembourg-based Regus PLC, a flexible office and co-working rental space similar to WeWork that also operates in the Renaissance Center and other locations around metro Detroit. The project, first proposed in spring 2012, is being completed on 3.5 acres of the former Jim Fresard Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealership on the north end of downtown. The developer of the project is Trailhead RO LLC, whose principal is Gregory Cooksey, in partnership with Versa Development in Southfield. Construction began last year on the project, which has been in the works since 2012. The development aims to tap into a thriving downtown that is booming with construction and new project plans. While apartments have sprung up plentifully in recent years, the Hyatt will be the first major hotel in the downtown area. Restaurants and nightlife destinations abound nearby the development, mostly to the south on Main Street. Hotel staff training started in the past few weeks. Around 40-50 people will be employed there, including valet and security workers. Reservations for hotel rooms can now be made online. The standard rate for a one-bedroom suite with a king bed is $189, according to the hotel website. Wi-Fi, breakfast and bar service, a concierge service, business center and gym will be offered with room rentals at the pet-friendly hotel. The ground floor of the apartment complex will have 10,000 square feet of retail, which will be leased as one or up to three spaces, Abbo said. Discussions with possible tenants are ongoing, but none have signed yet. The 113,820-square-foot luxury apartment complex next door to the north will be called Worcestor Luxury Living. Once complete — owners hope by early July — it will consist of 91 studio, one- and two-bedroom units. Two floors will likely be fully furnished and targeted toward corporate short-term stays. The units will come with "cutting edge" technology and design and will be cable- and internet-ready upon move-in, Abbo said. They also come with one parking space and an option to purchase another. Leasing has not yet begun for the apartments and pricing will be announced early next year. Behind the development is a new two-story, 284-space parking deck to accommodate the hotel and apartments. Royal Oak-based Krieger/Klatt Architects Inc. and Chicago-based LegatArchitects Inc. completed architectural work. Illinois-based William A. Randolph Inc. was the general contractor. — Crain's reporter Annalise Frank contributed to this report.
Regus has taken on the entire 20,000 sq ft second floor of the Hyatt Place hotel in Detroit’s Royal Oak, part of a $60m development opening to hotel guests on the past few weeks. The 101,111 sq ft hotel building will eventually house a restaurant or retail space on the ground floor, while a luxury complex of 91 apartments is being built in the adjacent building,