They paved over the Grand Hyatt and put up a parking lot — at least for the time being.

On Monday, David Lewis of Carlisle Development Co. filed a minor modification permit for plans to build a parking lot on the former Grand Hyatt site. In July, site work had begun on the hotel project, according to the permit filed.

The site, which is identified as Phase IV, of the One Beale development plan, will now be temporarily used for surface parking “until such date the intended hotel project is financed and ready for construction,” according to a February 2023 letter of intent.

That intended date is still unclear, but on Thursday, Chance Carlisle of Carlisle Corp. said he's more optimistic there's room to move forward.

"There is a pathway to bring the Grand Hyatt to Memphis in a different way," he said.

In March, the Memphis and Shelby County Land Use Control Board approved the parking lot plans based on a two-year time limit for the temporary lot.

In November 2022, Carlisle announced the Grand Hyatt project was done. The 359-room hotel was the center of a public dispute between Carlisle and Mayor Jim Strickland after the deal dissolved. The hotel was expected to be the final hotel piece for the One Beale development, which includes the Caption by Hyatt, Hyatt Centric and The Landing Residences.

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Carlisle is adamant that the intended design and plan for Grand Hyatt is done. Financing for a hotel that size with that much meeting space can't be done, he said.

"That hotel can't be built. Not today, not a year or two years from now," Carlisle said.

The developer added he and his team have been working more diligently on a new design plan to bring the Grand Hyatt brand to Memphis, albeit with a much different look than the plan that imploded nine months ago.

The One Beale project is located in a Tourism Development Zone (TDZ). The TDZ has a 5% surcharge added to hotel room sales along with food and beverage sales. Shelby County has three of the state’s eight Tourism Development Zones including Downtown Memphis, Graceland and the Liberty Park Fairgrounds.

Additionally, Carlisle said they have no longer been collecting the surcharge. In November 2022, Carlisle said canceling the surcharge would be the “final nail in the project’s coffin.”  The initial TDZ surcharge was expected to pay for the economic development bonds that were going to be used to finance the original Grand Hyatt project.

The surcharge is dependent on pursuing the project, with the previous deal collapsing last fall, collection of it stopped beginning in 2023, he said.

The One Beale site does not have any leased or guaranteed parking spaces at the recently opened Downtown Mobility Center, Carlisle said. The previous Grand Hyatt development agreement included 200 reserved spots specifically for the hotel.

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For the time being, the Grand Hyatt site will be used for staff and valet parking for the One Beale campus, Carlisle said.

Carlisle said valet service will be offered for hotel visitors, Fancy's Fish House guests and patrons for the soon-to-open Amelia Gene's. Amelia Gene's is located inside the former William C. Ellis & Sons Machine Shop and will open Nov. 1.

Neil Strebig is a journalist with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at neil.strebig@commercialappeal.com, 901-426-0679 or via X/Twitter,@neilStrebig. 

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Downtown Memphis: Grand Hyatt plans still in the works for One Beale