Hyatt group hopes to begin construction on MLK Blvd. soon, deliver by end of 2026
The agreement forged between the City of Kissimmee and the Kissimmee Place Development Group back in November to develop a hotel adjacent to the Kissimmee Gateway Airport became real on Monday.
The city and the developer held a ceremonial groundbreaking on a Hyatt Studios hotel that is slated to bring 122 rooms to a four-story facility on Martin Luther King Boulevard, across the street from the airport’s administration building.
With a ground lease signed May 20, if construction begins soon, the hotel could open at the end of 2026 to serve travelers flying in and out of Kissimmee’s general aviation airport, KPDG Santiago Fernandez said.
“This is a new investment in the future of this incredible city,” said fellow KPDG principal Juan Lopez Monday. “We’ve reached the first big milestone in this project. This means jobs and an opportunity for new momentum in the city.”
Kissimmee Gateway Airport Director Shawn Germolus said the development is the one that will kickstart the Dyer-Thacker Commerce Park development, a plan to bring airport-based commerce along MLK Boulevard and expand the airport’s footprint.
“We’re expecting people from all over the nation to bring their aircraft here,” he said. “Imagine driving down this corridor and seeing workforce development that supports the aviation industry which Kissimmee Gateway is known for. Capitalizing on that starts with this hotel, which was desperately needed yesterday to support these businesses.”
City Manager Mike Steigerwald called the development a major investment in one of the city’s “three pillars of economic development.”
“Our businesses are continuing to expand out here. We reached that critical mass of needing a lodging establishment to support (the airport’s) businesses. We have a significant workforce here that is built on training those who support the next level of the aviation industry, and that requires lodging. There was a lot of work just to get this project to the starting line.”
“Hyatt shares a vision with us,” Mayor Jackie Espinosa said. “Tell everyone you know about this.”
