AUSTIN | Fairmont Hotel | 595 FEET SPIRE/456 FT ROOF | 37 FLRS | Complete

[SkyPie]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

Do you know the specifics? How bad was it and where did it occur?

I only overheard this being talked about, so not too sure, but it sounded pretty bad. From what I heard, the water came from someplace high-up in the building and cascaded downward throughout the building. Hopefully we'll hear more about this sometime soon.

[IluvATX]

Years ago I worked on a hospital that had a fire sprinkler fail. It flooded 2 floors fairly badly, but it wasn't a highrise either. That may be what happened since there is so much water pressure in the sprinkler pipes and it takes a while to turn off.

[The ATX]

Their online registration system is accepting reservations beginning the week of SXSW. The rate for SXSW is around $1,000 per night.

[We vs us]

Originally Posted by SkyPie

Sounds like a flood event happened in the building today that will delay the opening well into next year. Between the porte-cochere collapse and now this, they can't seem to catch a break.

Whoa.

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by SkyPie

Sounds like a flood event happened in the building today that will delay the opening well into next year. Between the porte-cochere collapse and now this, they can't seem to catch a break.

( I'm just impressed you knew/used "Porte-cochere"!!!!!)

[freerover]

Who is the contractor?

[odelayjb]

Originally Posted by freerover

Who is the contractor?

The general contractor is Hunt Construction Group Inc.

The subcontractor in question, sued by Hunt Inc. earlier this year, is Cobb Mechanical Contractors Inc. (The suit also names Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. as a defendant.)

The project's developer is Manchester Financial Group.

From an Austin-American Statesman write up at the time, by Gary Dinges, on March 9th:

The general contractor building what will soon be Austin’s largest hotel has filed a lawsuit seeking at least $27 million in damages against a subcontractor that allegedly caused the project to fall behind schedule.

Another article of interest (replete with snarky comments), from Don Bauder of the San Diego Reader on March 17, 2017. (Manchester Financial is based in San Diego.)

Why the new moniker, freerover?

[We vs us]

I'll have to ask around when everyone's back to work on Monday. If the leak story's true, that's just a tragedy for them. And honestly, now for the city. Of course individual reservations have been affected since at least August, after the first delay, but they've also been relocating in-house groups now for several months. We're coming into a cycle where conventions that rely on their larger blocks of rooms will need to look into relocations and in the worst cases, cancellation. That means other co-dependent hotels will start to take hits, too. Not good news.

And I'd definitely call that pricing strategy for SXSW a tag aggressive. W Austin and Van Zandt are unavailable, and Four Seasons is selling at $1,300+. Driskill and Intercon are both selling at $700s+, but Fairmont (ideally) has a ton of rooms to sell. $1000's def the higher end.

[KevinFromTexas]

I got a photo of the sign lit up yesterday.

[The ATX]

Those are also nice shots of the demo/excavation for the Music Lane project. But that Santa and horse get in the way.

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by The ATX

Those are also nice shots of the demo/excavation for the Music Lane project. But that Santa and horse get in the way.

Lol, love your comment..

[ahealy]

I must admit, the sign all lit up looks pretty good.....They STILL need to buy 2 more spot lights and finish the spire.

[The ATX]

The Statesman has a story about the delay. Fairmont officials only gave a general statement about the latest delay. From the article:

The Fairmont Austin team is in the final stages of preparation for the much-anticipated opening, with an emphasis on recruiting, new colleague orientation, systems and service standards training,” the statement said. “We are actively working to complete the series of final inspections, permits and brand requirements necessary before we can welcome our first guest. We look forward to delivering the finest luxury hotel to the Austin market early in the New Year and remain steadfast in our dedication to this objective

http://www.statesman.com/business/op...5J0jrzz5rVtfN/

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by ahealy

I must admit, the sign all lit up looks pretty good.....They STILL need to buy 2 more spot lights and finish the spire.

It's really bright. I can see it from 4 miles away around my neighborhood. And I noticed a "seasonal" view of it recently from my neighborhood now that the trees are dropping their leaves.

[KevinFromTexas]

Oh yeah, I happened to look in there as I was riding by earlier in the day. The hole is getting big.

[We vs us]

.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by We vs us

Belatedly confirming the leak rumors, at least according to the hospitality grapevine. Supposedly quite a lot of damage (one of my executive leaders estimated damages as "several million dollars worth").

I had a chance to speak with one of my clients who scored a hard hat tour this week, and her quote was "wow, they're a looooong way from opening."

I'm now wondering if they'll be ready for SXSW -- which is really only just 4 months away.

Good info. Man, this project has been jinxed from the start going back to the multiple value engineerings and the trouble it had getting started.

[drummer]

Originally Posted by The ATX

Good info. Man, this project has been jinxed from the start going back to the multiple value engineerings and the trouble it had getting started.

I was thinking the same thing. They can't catch a break! It's a sure sign that they should have stuck to the original design and height...

[Geckos_Rule]

A cool shot I got at around sunset today

[Jdawgboy]

Beautiful, but from that angle the building once again reminds me of an oldschool walkie talkie.