The structure received heavy damage during Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005 and remained closed for six years afterwards. The previous hotel owners, Chicago-based Strategic Hotels and Resorts Inc., along with other investors announced in early 2006 a plan to redevelop the area around the Superdome into a performance art park called the "National Jazz Center". The plan, designed in concept by Pritzker Award-winning architect Thom Mayne, was later abandoned. Poydras Properties Hotel Holdings acquired the Hyatt from Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. for $32 million in 2007. On February 20, 2009, the State Bond Commission approved $225 million in special low-cost bonds to help renovate the Hyatt Regency. Hyatt issued a statement in August 2010 announcing a redevelopment effort carrying a price tag of $275 million. The redesign of the 32-story building, just next door to the Louisiana Superdome, called for of meeting and exhibition space, two restaurants, two bars, and a coffee bar. The hotel reopened on October 19, 2011.
Grand reopening
The hotel’s reopening in October 2011 revealed several major changes to its interior, and strategic technological additions. The storm-battered area around the newly rebranded Mercedes-Benz Superdome experienced major construction, renovation, and overall economic changes following the 2005 Hurricane Katrina, which continued to be supported by the rebuilt Hyatt Regency. The Central Business District’s post-disaster development has yielded both Champions Square, the sports district, and the currently under-construction Biotech District. The Hyatt will anchor these new developments by providing nearly 2,000 guest rooms and of convention space for visitors. The entrance to the Hyatt Regency also faces the newly constructed Loyola Streetcar line, which provides access to the French Quarter and rest of the Central Business District.
New features
The property’s renovation created possibilities for expansion, which materialized in the form of an exhibit hall constructed by re-purposing the hotel’s old port-cochere, or motor lobby.
Recognition
The Hyatt Regency New Orleans was distinguished by Forbes magazine as one of the Top 10 Hotel Renovations in 2012, due to several notable features, including an in-house restaurant.
