[BevoLJ]

Lol, guess I was a week early in moving the JW from approved to U/C list.

Work starts next week on JW Marriott downtown convention hotel
By Shonda Novak

Construction is set to start next week on the downtown JW Marriott convention hotel, after the developer recently received final approval of the project's building plans from the city of Austin.

The $300 million hotel will rise 33 stories on the east side of Congress Avenue and Second Street. It will have 1,012 keys, making it the world's largest JW Marriott in room count when it opens in early 2015. Crews have been working on the site, relocating underground utilities. Late next week, construction is expected to begin on the project itself, with the first phase being a three-story underground parking garage with 458 spaces. The garage will take nine to 10 months to build, followed by construction of the hotel.

More than 40,000 room reservations have already been sold, said the hotel's developer, Indiana-based White Lodging Services Corp.

"We are incredibly excited about delivering this signature project for Austin," Deno Yiankes, White Lodging's president and CEO of investments and development, said in a statement to the American-Statesman. "This hotel will be a game-changer for the city's tourism industry, and I believe that is already being confirmed by the number of rooms we have pre-sold. A convention hotel of this size and quality will take Austin to the next level in recruiting national conventions and events."

Mayor Lee Leffingwell said the project represents "the single largest investment in downtown Austin to date and will offer significant economic benefits to the city, including tax revenue and job creation.

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Read More: http://www.statesman.com/business/wo...e=rss_business