Feb 27 2015
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Nelson Development and Exeter Group LLC today announced plans for a 149-room, five-story Hyatt Place hotel to be located in the former U.S. Post Office and Custom House building in Saint Paul, Minn.
Exeter Group acquired the Custom House property from the U.S. Postal Service in August 2013, and has secured National Park Service approval to list the property on the National Register of Historic Places and to convert the building to a mixed use development with hotel and residential components, as well as a variety of supporting uses. Exeter Group LLC is the master developer of Custom House project and Nelson Development is acquiring a portion of the building for development of the hotel, which will be managed by LodgeWorks Partners, L.P.
“We are pleased to continue building upon a strong relationship with Nelson Development, the owners of Hyatt Place Des Moines – an excellent example of a successful adaptive reuse project,” said Mark Younadam, director of real estate and development for Hyatt. “This hotel will bring a new and dynamic product to the Saint Paul market, and I want to offer my congratulations and thanks to everyone at Nelson, LodgeWorks and Exeter who collaborated with us in order to bring this development to fruition.”
“We are excited to join the Saint Paul community and work with Hyatt and Exeter on this hotel development, a project that allows us to deepen our relationship with Hyatt – a world-renowned and well-respected hotel company – and Exeter – a first class developer and leader in delivering compelling, community enhancing, mixed use projects to the Twin Cities’ urban neighborhoods,” said Mike Nelson, owner, Nelson Development. “This project is yet another example of our continued focus on developing and investing in premium branded hotels in dynamic markets that will attract business and leisure travelers alike.”
“What a wonderful opportunity to leverage our operating expertise in furtherance of such a unique redevelopment of a beautiful historic building,” said Mike Daood, president of LodgeWorks. “We are thankful for the trust the Hyatt team continues to place in us as they match us with talented developers like Nelson Development. The finished hotel will be amazing and we are committed to further enhancing the guest experience and showcasing this asset to the Saint Paul community and its visitors.”
“Exeter Group is extremely pleased that Hyatt, Nelson and LodgeWorks have teamed up on this exciting Hyatt Place project at Custom House, which will be a great complement to this best-in-class mixed use redevelopment, which includes the Residences at Custom House, 202 luxury apartments on the upper floors, as well other retail commercial uses,” said Chief Development Manager Herb Tousley of Exeter Group.
The Hyatt Place hotel will be located downtown at the current site of the former U.S. Post Office and Custom House, a 17-story building that functioned as city’s main post office for 79 years. The hotel will maintain many of the building’s historic attributes, including the 13-foot guestroom windows and the art deco lobby, which will be restored.
Sitting on the southern edge of the Lowertown neighborhood, a lively historic district in downtown Saint Paul, the hotel will be adjacent to the recently renovated Union Depot transit hub, which provides access to the new METRO Green Line LRT, running from downtown Saint Paul to downtown Minneapolis with a connection to the MSP airport via the METRO Blue Line LRT. It will also be a short distance from the new Lowertown Ballpark, the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Xcel Energy Center, and beautiful Mears Park, which is surrounded by restaurants and nightlife.
The hotel will offer:
- 149 spacious guestrooms
- A fitness center and swimming pool
- Complimentary Wi-Fi access throughout the hotel
- Complimentary a.m. Kitchen Skillet TM, featuring freshly prepared breakfast sandwiches, a variety of fresh fruits, hot and cold cereal, yogurt, breads, premium coffee and an assortment of juices
- More than 1,800 square feet of flexible, high-tech meeting/function space
- 24/7 Gallery Menu serving made-to-order entrees and appetizers around the clock
- A Coffee to Cocktails Bar featuring specialty coffees and premium beers, as well as wines and cocktails