The Hyatt Regency on Bay Street has changed hands. What makes a hotel sale worth your attention is what sits underneath it: when the building went up in 1981 it was placed directly over one of the ramps connecting Bay Street down to River Street, and that passage has been closed off ever since.
City officials have ideas about reopening it, and a sale is the moment when ideas like that become negotiable again. A new owner planning a renovation needs permits and approvals, and that is the point at which a city can ask for something in return.
Why it matters
Savannah's riverfront connections were designed into the original city plan and then built over. A change of ownership is one of the few moments anything can be undone.
What to watch
Whether the new owner files for renovation permits, and what the city asks for when they do.
Sources and documents1 source
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