Original article written by Adam Van Brimmer and posted at Savannahnow.com, Savannah Morning News

Richard Kessler's Kessler Collection of hotels has a grand vision for remaking the west end of Savannah, Georgia's River Street.

The hotel developer and Savannah native unveiled his preliminary plans for the Plant Riverside site Thursday during a Savannah City Council workshop. The Grand Bohemian at Historic Power Plant will anchor the $100 million-plus redevelopment of the waterfront property, which straddles the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and River Street.

Redevelopment of the site, which Kessler bought for $9 million on New Year’s Eve, won’t begin for at least a year. Construction will take between 18 months and two years, meaning the hotel will open no earlier than 2016.

The 160-room Grand Bohemian is just one piece of the project. The hotel will be housed in the historic power plant, along with a café, a restaurant and bar, a 3,500-seat ballroom, a 3,000-square-foot art gallery and other upscale retail.

Kessler proposes to build a combination exhibition hall/parking garage to the west of the power plant along the riverfront. The cleared lot east of the power plant, which once was home to the transformer farm, initially will be converted to a grassed plaza and reserved for future development.

Kessler’s project was warmly received by council, a testament to the success of his past development work in Savannah. The Grand Bohemian will be the seventh hotel he’s built in the Historic District since launching his development career in 1970.
 

The Kessler Collection of Hotels:

The Mansion on Forsyth Park in Savannah, GA
Beaver Creek Lodge in Beaver Creek, CO
Kessler Canyon in DeBeque, CO
Grand Bohemian Hotel Orlando in Orlando, FL
The Castle in Orlando, FL
Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine, FL
Bohemian Hotel Celebration in Orlando, FL
Bohemian Hotel Savannah in Savannah, GA
El Monte Sagrado in Taos, NM
Grand Bohemian Hotel in Asheville, NC