$80 million Midtown hotel and retail project officially underway

Brad Nettles/StaffThe Charleston Midtown project officially broke ground Tuesday morning. The complex of buildings will include a dual-branded Hyatt hotel as well as office and retail space. This photo is looking west from atop the Elan Midtown apartment project. Spring street is to the right. King Street is beyond the white three-story building in the center, which will be refurbished.
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http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20130917/PC05/130919405/1011/-80-million-midtown-project-breaks-ground

Demolition has started and pilings are being driven, but the ground-breaking ceremony for one of downtown Charleston’s most ambitious redevelopment projects today officially launched the long-awaited Midtown project.

Officials with Regent Partners of Atlanta and Charleston-based CC&T Real Estate Services along with other dignitaries grabbed ceremonial shovels at 556 King St. to turn some dirt, officially kicking off the $80 million hotel and retail complex on 2.4 acres at King and Spring streets.

The project will include a 10-story, dual-branded Hyatt House and Hyatt Place hotel with 304 guest rooms, retail shops and a seven-story, 403-vehicle parking deck, which the city will eventually own. All told, Midtown will include four new structures and two renovated buildings for a total of 433,000 square feet.

“We are excited about this ground-breaking, but we look forward to its completion,” said Robert Clement of CC&T Real Estate Services, a partner in the project with Regent Partners of Atlanta. “We haven’t made any money yet.”

The developers expect construction to be completed by spring 2015.