Austin’s Westin Hotel tops out; other brands break ground

AUSTIN – Construction on the 366-room Westin Hotel on Congress Ave. has topped out. The hotel plans to welcome its first guests in summer 2015.

The 17-story hotel will have 14,500 sf of conference and meeting space, including a 4,500-sf ballroom.

The hotel activity in downtown Austin continues at a pace matched only by much larger metros such as New York City and Washington, D.C.

Westin’s developer, White Lodging, is also developing the 1,012-room JW Marriott down the street that is expected to open in February 2015.

The $370 million Fairmont Austin recently broke ground and is projected to deliver 1,066 rooms when it opens June 2017.

Hotel Zaza is under construction as well, and will add 160 rooms to the market when completed late 2016.

The Hotel Van Zandt is under construction on Rainey St., and a hybrid Hotel Indigo/Holiday Inn Express is under construction at E. 9th St. and Neches St.

Across town near Westlake, the Hotel Granduca is taking shape and recently was added to a special collection of luxury hotels.