Mark Wyant, the hotelier behind the Saint Hotel chain, is planning to demolish a vacant building on the River Walk to replace it with a six- to eight-story location of his hotel chain. The project is still in the early planning stages, but will likely have around 100 rooms and a restaurant with a cocktail bar on the ground floor. The proposed site is 151 East Travis, which Wyant bought last month.

Wyant operates two Saint Hotel locations in New Orleans and Key West. The hotel has a theme of the "dichotomy between good and evil," he told the San Antonio Express-News. The building's style will be a mix of modern design and San Antonio's southwestern aesthetic. Construction is expected to begin next summer and to finish within 18 months.

The move has many scratching their heads. Earlier this year, Woodbine Development scrapped plans for a 21-story hotel, questioning if the city had too many hotel rooms. Many hotels are already in the works. Hilton alone has a 24-story, a 10-story and one of its new Tru by Hilton concepts in the works. Developers are also working on an 18-story hotel and office tower on Main Plaza and a new boutique hotel in Hemisfair.

Wyant isn't worried, telling the Express-News that “San Antonio, as time goes along, will always seek a higher level of occupancy because it has more natural beauty and things to pull people in than Houston and Dallas.” [SAEN]