Posted Aug 20, 2026, 3:56 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Austin, TX / Portland,OR / Chicago, IL
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Planning Commission backs denser development on Galveston's West End
Quote:
The city Planning Commission on Tuesday recommended allowing the developer of a nearly 18-acre mixed-use project on the seawall to make several deviations from city code, paving the way for a denser development with more hotel rooms, residential units and commercial space.
Commissioners voted 5-1 to recommend an amended planned unit development for Royal Crown Enterprise LLC’s Sachs on the Seawall. The project now calls for 500 residential units, a hotel of nearly 290 rooms and 80,000 square feet of commercial space at 10302 Seawall Blvd.
“We submitted our amended PUD to make it better,” Mohamed Eldawy, CEO of Royal Crown Enterprise, said Wednesday.
“It will bring more value to Galveston, property owners, the hotel and future residents. It also makes the project more financially feasible for our equity partners and investors.”
Commissioners also amended the proposal to remove a sign allowance from the original plan. The amended planned unit development now heads to city council for its consideration during a Sept. 17 meeting.
The amended plan calls for a 285-room hotel, 500 residential units, about 80 units each for workforce housing and J1-visa holders, and 80,000 square feet of commercial space. To accommodate the larger development, the plan would increase the allowable floor-area ratio from 2 to 2.7, eliminate a 15,000-square-foot floor-plate restriction for floors six through eight and allow buildings up to 150 feet above mean sea level, according to planning commission documents.
Had commissioners rejected the variance request, Eldawy could have continued developing the site under the previously approved plan, city staff said.
Eldawy hopes the project will bring additional amenities to the West End, including a grocery store such as Whole Foods, he said. Royal Crown plans to break ground in 2027 and expects construction to be completed by 2030.
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