Hyatt deal in downtown Sarasota is dead

The deal between WCI and Hyatt is dead. Read the article here. WCI was going to buy the Hyatt for $65 million and tear it down to make way for some high end condos and a new hotel. The slowdown in the real estate market is what killed the deal.

Virginia Haley, who heads the Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau was happy to hear that they were not losing any more hotel rooms. In the past three years, the region has lost hundreds of hotel rooms to condo development.

My personal opinion is that we have plenty of condos in downtown Sarasota to accomodate the current demand. I would imagine something new will go there but it won't be for a few years. It might look more appealing to a developer in a few years after the current downtown Sarasota condos are absorbed by end users.