AUSTIN | Fairmont Austin | 700ft | 50 fl | Pro

[desertpunk]

austintowers

New 50-Story Modern Hotel Proposed for downtown, Battle with Marriott Begins
June 26, 2011



Last week, we reported that 1,000+ room Congress Avenue Marriott was back on-track. The project has been highly unpopular: the architecture is bad, the building lacks clear plans for ground floor retail, and the initial project resulted in the demolition of popular business such as Las Manitas. The building risks draining the life from a key downtown block connecting the 2nd street district to the convention district and 6th street on the East side of Congress. The developers caused additional controversy last week by requesting the waiver of more than $4 million in city fees to build the project.

The city needs a big new hotel to lure convention business and this has given the Marriott developers leverage as the only big budget project on the blocks. That is -- until now. This week, a San Diego development firm announced plans to build a 50-story 1,000 room hotel on the other side of the convention center.

The newly proposed project on Waller Creek provides a great alternative for the City: the architecture is interesting, the block is the ideal site for a large hotel between the convention center and I35. The developers are not aggressively pushing for fee relief from the City. The hotel would be the second tallest building in Austin after the Austonian.

Here is a summary from the Statesman:

Douglas Manchester, founder and chairman of Manchester Financial Group, said Friday that the project has been going "at a pretty fast speed" and that he anticipates starting construction in the next 12 months. The project would take at least 18 to 24 months to build, he said. He said Manchester Financial can put the required equity into the project and attract the loans to complete it."

[desertpunk]

Fairmont To Operate Manchester Hotel Project

Luxury management company Fairmont Hotels & Resorts will be the operator for a $350 million convention hotel planned for downtown, making Austin only the second Texas city to feature the famed brand, the company told the American-Statesman on Tuesday.

Fairmont said it will manage the 50-story, 1,000-room hotel for which Manchester Texas Financial Group plans to break ground early next spring, with a projected opening in 2015. Manchester will build its hotel — to be named the Fairmont Austin — on land that is now a parking lot at East Cesar Chavez and Red River streets just east of the Austin Convention Center.

At 580 feet, the hotel would be the second-tallest building in Austin’s skyline, after the 56-story Austonian.

The Austin Fairmont is expected to create 800 jobs during construction and about 1,000 permanent jobs after it opens, said Doug Manchester, president of Manchester Texas.

In addition, it is projected to generate about $6 million a year in hotel occupancy taxes and $4 million in annual property taxes, most of which will go to a special financing district that will help pay for improvements to nearby Waller Creek.

[FM 2258]

It looks ugly in the render but I'm sure it will turn out nice once it's built.

[Dale]

I really like it myself, including the bridge.

[jonathaninATX]

The parking lot that currently occupies the future site of the new Fairmont Hotel leases expire on March 31st. Ground breaking will take place sometime in April.

[Dale]

Okay, here we go. And how about the Cousins project ? I believe it's called Colorado @ 3rd ?

[jonathaninATX]

Originally Posted by Dale

Okay, here we go. And how about the Cousins project ? I believe it's called Colorado @ 3rd ?

From what I've heard from AusTxDevelopment they already got 2 leases pending and waiting on 1 more, if they can't get the other one by April they will have to put the project on hold indefinitely.

[desertpunk]

Originally Posted by jonathaninATX

The parking lot that currently occupies the future site of the new Fairmont Hotel leases expire on March 31st. Ground breaking will take place sometime in April.

Woot!

[Dale]

Originally Posted by jonathaninATX

From what I've heard from AusTxDevelopment they already got 2 leases pending and waiting on 1 more, if they can't get the other one by April they will have to put the project on hold indefinitely.

Okay, at least they've got a couple in hand.

[jonathaninATX]

Originally Posted by desertpunk

Woot!

Thanks DP for the rep. I am very excited to finally see this tower rise.

Originally Posted by Dale

Okay, at least they've got a couple in hand.

Me to, I'm confident that they will find someone who will be willing to sign on real soon.

[desertpunk]

Fairmont To Break Ground This October

When the proposed Austin Fairmont mega hotel project swooped in to the news a couple years ago, snatching the spotlight from the JW Marriot mega hotel, there was a healthy dose of skepticism about it would get off the ground.

A lack of visible activity on the site has been quietly stoking perceptions that the Fairmont will end up anything more than pretty drawings. The site filed a site plan in October 2012, which is still in review, but site plans are never guarantees of construction.

There had also been some chatter that a proposed sky bridge over Waller Creek, connecting the hotel to the convention center, had caused a project-stalling rift between the developer and the Waller Creek Conservancy.

But fret not!

Apparently, Doug Manchester, president of Manchester Texas Financial Group, which is developing the project, told the February monthly meeting of the Urban Land Institute’s Austin chapter, the project will break ground this October, with a 2016 opening date.

(The ABJ reported that Manchester wants to also champion a “major push” to develop the Austin Convention Center into a more competitive convention space to take on the like of San Diego, but that's another story for another day.)

That the president of Manchester talking a big-picture, long-term view and ensuring a room full of people the project will break ground this year is about as much proof as you need to know this is a real project.

[...]

[ZKB9]

What a beautiful tower! Can't wait for this October!

[desertpunk]

May take longer:

Drainage issues may impact Fairmont Hotel timeline

May 3, 2013, 7:19am CDT

The developer of the proposed Fairmont Austin Hotel at 101 Red River St. faces an unusual situation.

Manchester Texas Financial Group LLC needs the Austin City Council to approve floodplain variances before it can ramp up construction on the site. However, if those variances are approved, the potential outcome could result in adverse flooding impacts to other properties. That couldn’t be good, right? Well, the situation is complicated because of where it’s located.

The proposed 50-story, 1,000-room hotel is situated in the area that is undergoing a dramatic change due to the construction of the Waller Creek tunnel. The Waller Creek tunnel, a huge underground drainage channel, will take 28 acres of land out of the floodplain and make it ripe for development. It will change the drainage dynamics of projects like the Fairmont.

So, here’s the crux of the situation: If the tunnel was complete — it won’t be finished until late 2014 — there would be no need for the variances. The current site plan would be in compliance with floorplain regulations. But right now, the situation is different and those variances for the short term have some potential unpleasant outcomes, such as flooding of surrounding properties if a huge rain occurs prior to the tunnel’s completion.

The City Council first must set a public hearing on the issue. The suggested date and time for that is 4 p.m. on May 23. Council will vote on the time for the public hearing at its May 9 meeting.

[...]