AUSTIN | Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue | 346 FEET | 31 FLOORS | Complete

[KevinFromTexas]

Interesting. The funny thing is, there was once a hotel that operated at that very site with the same name from at least the 1860s up until before 1935.

Check out this thread that has a couple of photos of it.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...173080&page=22

Originally Posted by Sigaven

Damn. I hope the exterior design doesn't change.

Yeah, that would suck. I'd like to hide their pencils if they tried.

Honestly, this thing makes more sense to me as a hotel. The residential renderings even showed a Congress facing amenity level, but it just seems that would be better suited as a hotel space than a residential one.

[masonh2479]

Originally Posted by We vs us

Was just thinking about this. A trend away from rental -- and mostly even residential -- to commercial -- in the CBD.

I still think the Hyatt thing is up by UT, but this is a surprising development. The building itself will almost an exact twin of the Aloft/Element though I bet the room count will be lower, maybe in the mid 200s. The lot seems skinnier.

My bet is a luxury/boutique brand or limited service. Generally meaning: a hotel that doesn't need ballroom space.

What about the rumored Virgin Hotel, that’s my guess. Maybe another Kimpton hotel.

[ahealy]

Originally Posted by masonh2479

What about the rumored Virgin Hotel, that’s my guess. Maybe another Kimpton hotel.

I'll probably get sniper'd from my (local hotelier) employer for saying this, but I kinda HOPE it's a Virgin. I don't know why....maybe the attraction of having a more international brand on Congress?
**One that doesn't suck shit through a straw like The F#####t ..........

[the Genral]

I still think Virgin is coming to Austin from an old source, but I would be surprised if it was going on Congress Ave. From the description of the design, it would be out of character for that location, by that I mean red and white in color and many angles.

[masonh2479]

Originally Posted by ahealy

I'll probably get sniper'd from my (local hotelier) employer for saying this, but I kinda HOPE it's a Virgin. I don't know why....maybe the attraction of having a more international brand on Congress?
**One that doesn't suck shit through a straw like The F#####t ..........

My thoughts exactly, Virgin seems like a nice hotel group and their name is spread all over this world.

[masonh2479]

Originally Posted by the Genral

I still think Virgin is coming to Austin from an old source, but I would be surprised if it was going on Congress Ave. From the description of the design, it would be out of character for that location, by that I mean red and white in color and many angles.

Congress seems like a good spot for the Virgin to me, centralized location with walking distance to pretty much anything. Though if the rumors said Virgin wanted to build their hotel from the ground up, I would be less likely to think they would occupy the already designed Avenue.

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by The ATX

This project has changed to a hotel. An approved site plan change was posted today. The file attached to the permit has some info. The building doesn't seemed to have changed. The square footage will remain the same and parking is still off site. No word on the operator or a name change.

https://abc.austintexas.gov/web/perm...ertyrsn=201278

Very disappointing. It was exciting to think that downtown Austin housing had matured to the point where a large residential project might be viable with no parking. I guess we won't know the answer to that question any time soon. Another hotel project seems like overkill to me, but today's brand new hotel might become the day after tomorrow's single room occupancy residential hotel. That happened in a lot of cities that overbuilt hotels back in the first half of the 20th Century leading up to the Great Depression.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by austlar1

Very disappointing. It was exciting to think that downtown Austin housing had matured to the point where a large residential project might be viable with no parking.

At least we are to the point where major hotels don't have to have parking. Baby steps I guess.

The elevations haven't been updated yet, but they would have to change the curb cuts for a drop off zone as well as the ground floor to configure a lobby desk.

[We vs us]

I wonder if this building will be too small for a Virgin. A lot will depend on the potential room count. I think a Virgin is the right direction, though . . . something boutique and medium to small sized.

Another thought I had was it might be another Moxy. Or an operator/brand that I've never heard of (like the Line folks, or Proper).

Related: here's Statesman coverage of a recent study of the Austin hotel market by a San Antonio research firm. https://www.mystatesman.com/business...kIca7GKxsgxlO/

By pretty much every metric available, Austin’s hotel market is the strongest in all of Texas – and one of the most robust in the entire nation.

That’s according to a new report from Source Strategies, a San Antonio-based hotel consulting firm.

Revenue at hotels in the Austin-Round Rock metro area was up 13 percent year over the year in the first quarter. Average occupancy was 74.4 percent – the second-highest occupancy rate in the state. The average room rate was $146.89 – more than any other Texas city. And revenue per available room – a key industry metric – was off the charts, coming in at $109.29.

“Austin is the most vibrant lodging market in the state, with revenue per available room $30 higher than any other major Texas metro,” Source Strategies senior vice president Paul Vaughn said. “In the first quarter of 2018, net room supply was 14.5 percent higher than in first quarter 2017 with 5,200 new rooms increasing the total to over 41,000 rooms. Even so, consistently rising demand over the last decade has outpaced new hotel supply.”

and

Hoteliers looking to expand their presence here can face challenges, Source Strategies’ Vaughn said, but the payoff is typically worth the aggravation.

“Austin’s regulatory environment makes the pipeline of new hotels slower than many other areas,” he said. “We expect to see much more hotel room supply entering the market in the coming years, bringing average occupancies down to a more reasonable equilibrium level.”

and

Top 10 hotels
These are the Texas hotels with the highest revenue per available room in 2017:

Hotel Saint Cecilia, Austin
Four Seasons Hotel, Austin
Ritz-Carlton, Dallas
Hotel Emma, San Antonio
The Driskill Hotel, Austin
South Congress Hotel, Austin
Hotel Van Zandt, Austin
Houstonian Hotel, Houston
W Hotel, Austin
Hotel San Jose, Austin
—Source Strategies

Some good nuggets in here -- not the least of which is that 1) Austin's hotels are printing money and 2) the type of hotels that print the most money here are mostly "Austin style" -- boutique, specialized, millenial and tech focused. Not so much with "traditional luxury."

[Jdawgboy]

2nd place for occupancy, I wonder who is 1st? Last time an article came out about the hotel market, Austin had the highest occupancy rate as well.

[brdrcksn]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Interesting. The funny thing is, there was once a hotel that operated at that very site with the same name from at least the 1860s up until before 1935.

The Avenue Hotel was torn down in 1927 to build the Nalle Office building.
From the Austin American, Aug 14, 1927:



A few years later, the project was stalled after only the basement and first floor had been built:



The State Theater was built in 1935, reusing some of the south half of the shell.
Newspaper articles said they tore out the floor, ceiling, and five pillars.

It looks like the building where the new Avenue will be built is basically the north half of the shell.
I am curious how they were split. It looks like the center pillars went with the State Theater.

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

2nd place for occupancy, I wonder who is 1st? Last time an article came out about the hotel market, Austin had the highest occupancy rate as well.

I think it's one of the oil patch cities. Midland/Odessa, maybe?

[N90]

Yeah it's Midland, which has the most active housing market, job market, and hotel market in the state right now.

In Midland demand is outstripping supply in every sector, especially housing.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by brdrcksn

The Avenue Hotel was torn down in 1927 to build the Nalle Office building.
From the Austin American, Aug 14, 1927:



A few years later, the project was stalled after only the basement and first floor had been built:



The State Theater was built in 1935, reusing some of the south half of the shell.
Newspaper articles said they tore out the floor, ceiling, and five pillars.

It looks like the building where the new Avenue will be built is basically the north half of the shell.
I am curious how they were split. It looks like the center pillars went with the State Theater.

Wow. I'd never heard of that one. I've never seen that image or read about it, even on those "Austin remembers" pages, which are usually full of info.

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Wow. I'd never heard of that one. I've never seen that image or read about it, even on those "Austin remembers" pages, which are usually full of info.

Now it makes sense why the basement of the State is connected to the building next door!!!! Ah ha!
There has to be some major construction considerations for that !

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by N90

Yeah it's Midland, which has the most active housing market, job market, and hotel market in the state right now.

In Midland demand is outstripping supply in every sector, especially housing.

What a dull yucky ugly part of the state. Not much to do either. I would never want to live in that hideous place lol.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

What a dull yucky ugly part of the state. Not much to do either. I would never want to live in that hideous place lol.

Ooooo, Midlanders might take that the wrong way. They actually have a decent little skyline for a small town. Not bad for an oil town in the middle of nowhere. So where can they go to spend their big fueled by the oil industry paychecks?

[The ATX]

Nelsen Partners now includes The Avenue in their hospitality portfolio. There's no change in the renderings, but they updated the verbiage to say that this will feature 230 guest rooms.

https://nelsenpartners.com/nb-portfo...pe=hospitality

[We vs us]

I wonder if the original 5 floors of office space will stay part of the plan. Even if not, the hotel will need support space (offices, housekeeping storage, etc) that residential doesn’t normally require.

EDIT: but 230 keys is right about where I thought they’d land. I’d say still Virgin-al, if they wanted to go that way.

Virgin Hotels is an ideal brand option for your unencumbered hotel when it’s time to step up your game. Here’s what it takes.

– The ideal hotel has over 150 keys, 6k to 10k square feet of meeting space, and suitable for a rooftop bar and Commons Club. Click here to learn more about the Virgin Hotels Food and Beverage concept.

– Timeline to convert your hotel is approximately 18 months.

– Cost to convert your hotel is similar to any branded four star hotel product.

https://development.virginhotels.com/?page=opportunity

[N90]

I just want to see this one get built.

Secretly it has been my favorite tower that's been proposed in Austin this decade. The no parking podium really resonated with me and I love its design and how it interacts for pedestrians.

The sooner this one starts moving dirt, the better IMO.