Hyatt Regency Albuquerque

Hyatt Regency Albuquerque is a 20-story high-rise hotel located at 330 Tijeras Avenue NW in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. The building is 78 m (256 ft) tall, making it Albuquerque's second tallest building and tallest hotel. It was built in 1990 as part of the Albuquerque Plaza mixed-use complex on the south side of Civic Plaza, which also includes the Albuquerque Plaza tower.

Hyatt Regency Albuquerque
Hyatt Regency Albuquerque (right) and the Albuquerque Plaza office tower (left) seen from Civic Plaza.
Hotel chain	Hyatt Hotels Corporation
General information
Location	United States
Address	330 Tijeras Street NW Albuquerque, New Mexico
Coordinates	35.0862°N 106.6507°W / 35.0862; -106.6507
Opening	1990
Owner	Allegiance Realty Corporation
Management	Heritage Hotels and Resorts
Height	78.03 m (256.0 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	20
Design and construction
Architect	Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum
Developer	HCB Contractors
Other information
Number of rooms	395
Number of suites	14
Number of restaurants	Forque Bar and Grill
Website
www.albuquerque.hyatt.com
[1][2][3]

The Albuquerque Plaza Complex was designed by Hellmuth, Obata, & Kassabaum and was completed in 1990.

History

The Hyatt Regency Albuquerque was part of the Albuquerque Plaza mixed-use development built by BetaWest Properties, a commercial real estate subsidiary of US West[4] and sister company of the Mountain Bell telephone company. The company was planning a new office tower to replace the old Mountain Bell building, which was originally built in 1953 as a Fedway department store and was notable for having New Mexico's first escalator.[5][6] Concurrently, the city was planning a major expansion of the Albuquerque Convention Center and convinced BetaWest to add a luxury hotel to the proposed development. In order to secure the hotel deal, the city gave BetaWest $10 million in loans, a seven-year exemption on property taxes for the hotel, and a three-year catering concession for the convention center.[7] Designed by HOK Architects, the planned development consisted of a 22-story office tower and 20-story hotel tower connected by a shared base. Construction began in early 1988 with the demolition of the Mountain Bell building and was completed in the summer of 1990. The total cost of the project was $100 million.[8]

In August 1988, it was announced that Hyatt Hotels had been chosen to operate the hotel,[9] and the grand opening was held two years later on August 1, 1990.[8] With the real estate market struggling in the early 1990s, US West began selling off many of its commercial properties. Both of the Albuquerque Plaza towers were sold to Crescent Real Estate Equities of Fort Worth in 1995 for $69 million.[10] In 2005 the office tower was sold to a local investment group, now under the umbrella of Allegiance Realty of Charlotte, North Carolina. Meanwhile, the Hyatt was sold to an out-of-state investor[4] but went into foreclosure in 2010. In 2013, Allegiance was able to purchase the hotel from Bank of America, putting both towers back under the same ownership.[11]

Architecture

The Hyatt Regency is 256 feet (78 m) tall and has 20 stories, making it New Mexico's second tallest building by both height and floor count. The tower, roughly square in plan with angular projections, is situated at the north end of the block and originally contained 395 hotel rooms. However, the hotel currently houses 382 rooms due to in-house renovations over the last decade.[11] It rises 18 stories above a two-story base which is shared with the Albuquerque Plaza office tower. The first floor contains a retail promenade, while the second floor houses banquet and conference rooms. The complex was designed by HOK Architects and is an example of postmodern architecture. It is constructed from reinforced concrete with pink granite trim, and both towers are capped with distinctive pyramidal roofs which contain mechanical equipment.[8]

Amenities

The hotel is styled with Southwestern decor and offers rooms with a mountain or city view. Forque Kitchen and Bar, the onsite restaurant, offers fine dining, a standard cafe, and serves as the lobby lounge. Other amenities include a heated rooftop pool, hot tubs, and a 24-hour attended gym. The 24,000 sq ft (2,200 m²) conference center contains four ballrooms, three boardrooms and 22 meeting rooms.[12]

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Albuquerque

References

1. Hyatt Regency Albuquerque at Emporis
2. "Hyatt Regency Albuquerque". SkyscraperPage.
3. Hyatt Regency Albuquerque at Structurae
4. Metcalf, Richard (October 1, 2007). "Inside the Tower: Albuquerque Plaza Has 22 Stories, a Pyramid, Fast Elevators and Local Ownership". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
5. "New Fedway store opens in city Monday morning". Albuquerque Journal. August 23, 1953. Retrieved October 18, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Mountain Bell marks building demolition". Albuquerque Journal. February 25, 1988. Retrieved October 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Martin, Jim (July 14, 1987). "Center expansion set for July of '88". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved October 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Marks, Ellen (May 29, 1990). "Pyramids cap new downtown skyline". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved October 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Martin, Jim (August 25, 1988). "Hyatt Corp. to manage new convention hotel". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved October 18, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Sieger, Maggie (December 21, 1995). "US West Tower to operate as is". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved October 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Metcalf, Richard (May 20, 2013). "Hyatt Downtown hotel soon under local control". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
12. "Hyatt Regency Albuquerque Brochure" (PDF). Albuquerque Hyatt. 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-14.

External links

• Hyatt Regency Albuquerque (Official site)
• Albuquerque Plaza complex at Emporis