Downtown Sarasota’s bayfront is getting a major plot twist: the longtime Hyatt Regency is gone, and a 20-story replacement is inching toward reality on the same waterfront site.
Kolter Urban is advancing plans for Hyatt Centric Harborside, a mixed-use tower that will pair a full-service Hyatt Centric hotel with 117 luxury condominiums and new public-facing spaces along the Quay waterfront. With fresh renderings in circulation and condo reservations stacking up, the project is poised to become one of the most visible pieces of Sarasota’s evolving skyline.
The former Hyatt Regency Sarasota has already been demolished to clear the way and push the redevelopment into its next phase, as reported by Tampa Bay Business Journal. That coverage notes Kolter has released new images of the hotel’s public areas and lobby spaces, a move framed as a key step before construction crews mobilize and permits are locked in.
New renderings show Hyatt Centric Harborside with roughly 174 guest rooms, a ground-floor restaurant, a resort-style pool and more than 7,000 square feet of flexible event space, according to Florida YIMBY. The tower also includes 117 condominium residences, with pre-construction pricing detailed in local coverage, per Sarasota Magazine. Developer materials show the hotel and residences set up as structurally separate components within a single 20-story building, with Kolter Hospitality slated to manage the property.
Timeline, sales and where construction stands
On the sales side, Kolter has reported more than $40 million in early condo reservations and is targeting the third quarter of 2026 to start construction, according to the Business Observer. City workshop materials show the buildout is planned in phases, with the hotel coming first and phase one expected in late 2028, per the city's workshop minutes. With the site now cleared, Kolter is focused on finalizing permit submittals and organizing staging plans ahead of foundation work.
Permits, design choices and pushback
The project has not cruised through the review process without turbulence. Despite the developer’s outreach, neighboring interests have lodged objections and pushed for tweaks, including an appeal that challenged code variances and alley access, as reported by Your Observer. Concerns raised during Planning Board deliberations focused on curb cuts, driveway widths and how the project could affect pedestrian circulation around the site.
Kolter’s team says it has addressed those technical points and will keep coordinating traffic circulation, loading areas and sidewalk safety with city staff as the permitting phase continues.
What this adds to downtown
The tower at 1000 Boulevard of the Arts is one of several Kolter projects reshaping Sarasota’s bayfront, joining developments like The Ritz-Carlton Residences nearby, according to local coverage by SRQ. Planners say the hotel, its meeting space and new public-facing amenities could channel more overnight visitors to the city’s performance venues and waterfront parks and help feed demand for downtown restaurants and retailers.
City officials and Kolter alike have stressed that construction will need to be carefully staged and coordinated with ongoing Complete Streets upgrades to keep sidewalks open and pedestrian access workable as the site is built out.
Kolter’s sales gallery and marketing package includes unit floor plans, renderings and additional details for prospective buyers and partners, per developer documents. Developer materials outline the amenity mix, pricing ranges and the hotel’s proposed public spaces. More construction updates, permitting milestones and contractor announcements are expected as Kolter assembles the team to bring the project out of the ground.
