Hyatt Regency Wichita

LOCATION Downtown Wichita, Kansas

TYPE OF OWNERSHIP Public/Private Partnership

OPENED September 1997

DESCRIPTION
As a principal, JMS capitalized this 303-room, full-service convention hotel with equity and debt financing. In addition, JMS arranged the sale of the hotel and dissolution of the ownership entity.

FACILITIES

• Two restaurants
• Bar and lobby lounge
• Specialty and convenience retail outlet
• 33,000 square feet of conference and banquet space · Indoor pool and health facility.
• Hyatt Business Plan concierge lounge and Hyatt Business Plan guest rooms
• Attached 500-car parking garage
• Adjacent to 200,000 square foot Century II Convention Center

The city of Wichita has a large convention center which, for years, had been hampered by a lack of quality hotel rooms in the area and an adjacent headquarters hotel. The city believed that increased convention business would provide an economic stimulus for downtown revitalization and would improve the return on the city's original investment in the convention center.

City leaders had tried without success to entice private developers to respond to the public need for new hotel rooms. Finally, the mayor appointed a special task force to facilitate the development of a downtown hotel. Our development team proposed a structure that would stimulate investment of private capital.

After considerable debate local politicians, bankers, and city officials eventually agreed to the plan and the developers were chosen to develop and operate the new Hyatt Regency Hotel.

To finance development of the $42-million, 303-room, full-service convention hotel and related facilities, our principals secured approximately half the monies needed through private debt and equity. The other half included subordinated equity in the hotel and funding for the conference center from tax increment financing, and financing of the parking facility with City parking bonds. Public investment amounted to approximately 50% of the total.