Search Results for: w hotel

Hotels in Downtown Austin: Girls’ Night at the Omni Downtown

AG | July 27, 2012 |

I already live, work, and play in downtown Austin, which means that I know a lot about this area. However, one element that I’m not really that familiar with is the hotels in downtown Austin.

Recently, I was lucky enough to receive a complimentary stay at the Omni downtown. I decided to take advantage of the free stay and do a mini stay-cation with a couple of fun girlfriends. I figured this would be a different way to get to know the city, and have [Read more…] about Hotels in Downtown Austin: Girls’ Night at the Omni Downtown

Delayed Rainey Street Hotel Plans Finalized

dab | July 29, 2011 |

Hotel Van Zandt, proposed initially in parallel to The Shore Condos in Downtown Austin’s Rainey Street District in 2008, is still kicking.

Downtown Austin Blog reported in March that plans had been filed for the hotel, though it was unclear what scope the project had taken on. Today I confirmed the project will be 16 stories, about 180 feet, and about 320 units, plus 10,000 square feet of meeting space and a 5,000-square-feet of resturant office.

There will be about 159 [Read more…] about Delayed Rainey Street Hotel Plans Finalized

Another Boutique Hotel Planned For Congress Ave?

dab | July 25, 2011 |

It appears developers are pursuing a boutique hotel at the 800 block of Congress Avenue, in addition to one planned at the 400 block. We thought that once before, but this time different people are involved and it looks more certain.

The hotel, planned in the Bosche-Hogg Building — a historic building at Congress Avenue and Eighth Street plagued by low occupancy and bought out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy — will have 210 rooms and 120,000 square feet of office space, according to my intel. [Read more…] about Another Boutique Hotel Planned For Congress Ave?

A Tale Of Two Hotels

dab | June 28, 2011 |

Anyone listening in at City Hall might have heard city staff remind city council not to call the new hotel hotels being pitched downtown a “convention hotel.”

If you are wondering why, check out this story I wrote while at the Austin Business Journal in December. It is curious why this point has been overlooked or ignored by other media outlets.

To plagiarize, well, myself: “The city barred itself nine years ago from designating any other hotel as one of the city’s ‘convention center hotels’ when it agreed to a contract that called for issuing more than $250 million in bonds to build the downtown Austin Hilton, according to public records filed with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, or MSRP. The city reaffirmed that pledge when it refinanced the bonds in 2006.”

The second hotel developers are quick to point out they are not asking for subsidies, like the Marriott project planned on 2nd Street and Congress Avenue is.

But they can’t, according to the contract.

Interestingly, the Statesman reported on June 23 that the second hotel, planned by Austin developers Perry Lorenz and Robert Knight, could be a Hilton.

But according to the same contract I sourced above, the Hilton can’t build another hotel unless they cut through some red tape.

Just goes to show, I guess, a contract with the city is only as good as the litigators you want to enforce it.

Mega Hotel Subsidy Draws Fire From Austin Council

dab | June 21, 2011 |

It seems that having Armbrust & Brown attorney Richard Suttle as the representative of the hotel developers I wrote about Monday may be a little too hot for some council members to handle.

On Tuesday morning, Council Members Bill Spelman, Sheryl Cole and Laura Morrison seemed skeptical that his clients need almost $4 million in city breaks to help to build a hotel downtown.

Students of city politics should note that the power base at city council has now shifted from Mayor Lee Leffingwell, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez and Chris Riley — who are losing defeated incumbent Randi Shade — to the other council members, who are gaining Kathie Tovo next month.