By Kevin Collison

A Colorado developer is planning a $37 million Hyatt House Hotel on a vacant lot at Ninth and Broadway, and in a major departure, the project would be built without parking.

Scott Pedersen of Boulder-based Pedersen Development, said guests staying at the proposed 13-story, 153-room hotel would be served with valet parking.

The reason?

“Kansas City parking garage utilization runs at 56 percent occupancy at noon and drops to 26 percent at 5 p.m.,” Pedersen said. “Overnight, it’s 13 percent.

“That opens up a lot of interesting options for redeveloping sites and developing vacant lots…so we’re not interested in parking.”

Pedersen also has acquired the historic (1903) B. Adler & Co./Kelly-Williams Co. building at 908 Broadway, next door to the hotel site on the northwest corner of Ninth and Broadway. He has no plans to change its current use.

“We’re leaving the Google Fiber building alone,” he said, referring to its primary tenant. “We have great tenants in there and our plan is to own the building for the foreseeable future.”

The developer, who recently completed a mixed-use development anchored by a Hyatt Place hotel in Boulder called Depot Square at Boulder Junction, is bullish about downtown Kansas City.

He also recently bought a building in the River Market at 415 Delaware.

“Kansas City, to me, feels not unlike Denver, but eight- to 10 years behind,” he said.

“The cool thing is city officials and the Council are doing a good, thoughtful job of redeveloping and revitalizing downtown.”

He added the introduction of the streetcar also makes it easier for people to get around downtown without cars.

Pedersen plans to seek a property tax abatement from the Land Clearance Redevelopment Authority (LCRA) to help make the project work financially.

His request for a 25-year abatement, 100 percent for 10 years, 37.5 percent for 15, is currently be reviewed by a development consultant for the KC Economic Development Corp. (EDC).

“We’re seeking incentives simply because of the cost of construction,” he said. “Our design is trying to bridge the gap between historic and modern architecture and will be 100 percent brick.”

He added the high-rise nature of the building and its tight construction site also are factors driving up its cost.

If successful in obtaining the incentives, construction would begin in February 2019 with completion anticipated in April 2020.

The hotel also would mean the return of the Hyatt flag to downtown Kansas City.

The former Hyatt Regency at Crown Center became a Sheraton in 2011. Hyatt also had pursued operating the new convention hotel now being built, but Loews was chosen instead.

Pedersen said Hyatt House is an extended stay product of the Hyatt chain. It’s geared toward business travelers, conventioneers and families needing more space for leisure stays.

“The Hyatt House will definitely be an important piece in the whole convention arena and the new convention hotel will allow the city to attract more business,” he said.

Don’t miss any downtown news, sign up for our weekly CityScene KC email review here.