It’s a growing trend. Still sluggish travel and tourism numbers since the pandemic, and acute housing shortages have provided new opportunities for developers. Blue Ocean Investments is seeking city permits to convert the 25-year old, 131-room Hyatt House extended-stay hotel on the North Central Expressway into a rental community. Blue Ocean is no newcomer to the hotel/apartment transition game. Blue Ocean’s Evan Gallant said, “Over the past two years, Blue Ocean has become a national leader in converting extended-stay hotels into multi-family communities.”

Blue Ocean has acquired hotels in North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Maryland and Pennsylvania to convert into apartments. The real estate company plans to spend $5.25 million to convert the Richardson Hotel into rental units. The renovated property is operated by Blue Ocean under the Trellis Apartments brand. The project will take approximately 12 months if approved by the city. The extended-stay hotel currently has studio and one-bedroom units.