The first branded hotel in the River District broke ground Tuesday, launching about a year and a half of construction on the Hyatt Studios property that will be geared toward long-term stays.
The hotel on the banks of the Dan River near the Main Street Bridge will have 122 rooms, designed for guests who are in town for weeks or months at a time, like construction crews and students in the U.S. Navy’s Accelerated Training and Defense Manufacturing 12-week program.
There was pent-up demand for this type of lodging, said Rory Dowling, owner of 1st & Main Development, the Durham-based company behind the project.