Merritt, Peachtree Plan $58M Hotel in Downtown

Add another hotel to downtown San Antonio’s hospitality sector.

A joint venture of Austin-based Merritt Development Group and Georgia-based Peachtree Group aims to develop a 10-story, 171-room Residence Inn by Marriott at 100 North Main Avenue, the San Antonio Business Journal reported. Tennessee-based BGKT Architects has been tapped as the designer.

The hotel, expected to cost $58 million, or more than $339,000 per room, would span 124,000 square feet and feature a rooftop pool and terrace, fitness center, meeting rooms and a bakery. The project is being reviewed by the city’s Development Services Department.

The parcel, acquired by Peachtree Group in October, has changed hands twice this year. It was previously owned by an LLC affiliated with REM Hospitality.

The site has been a long-standing target for hotel development. REM bought it in 2016 with plans for an 18-story, Cambria-branded mixed-use building in collaboration with Choice Hotels.

A slew of hotel projects are in the pipeline in downtown San Antonio. Blueprint Hospitality is plotting a $55 million redevelopment of the old CPS Energy headquarters at 145 Navarro Street into a 243-room El Portal, to be part of Marriott’s Autograph brand.

Los Angeles-based Evolution Hospitality has a $30 million plan to renovate the historic Sheraton Gunter Hotel at 205 East Houston Street. That revamped hotel would highlight the Gunter’s rich musical history, as legendary blues musicians Robert Johnson recorded at the hotel, built in 1909. John Mellencamp recorded part of an album there in 2010. The developer is considering installing a recording studio for musicians and podcasters.

Ryman Hospitality made blockbuster hospitality news in San Antonio this past summer when it bought the JW Marriott Hill Country Resort from Blackstone for $800 million.

—Quinn Donoghue