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Developers ask for new Congress Avenue hotel zoning

Two Austin property owners have filed documents with the city of Austin that could clear the way for a new hotel and restaurant on Congress Avenue.

The Coventus Corporation and the Finley Company have submitted a request asking the city to allow them to build a portion of a building closer to Congress Avenue as well as work with one off-street loading space of 10 feet by 30 feet, according to documents filed with the city.

The 7th and Congress Hotel project is described as a 450 room hotel with a 5,400-square-foot restaurant, according to the traffic analysis included in city documents.
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For the complete article go here:
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/ne...ss-avenue.html

Whoa. 450 rooms on that little lot? That's going to be quite tall! See, this is why I like smaller lots rather than what we see with the JW Marriott. The JW Marriott lot should be broken up into 8 or 10 small lots, rather than just treated as one big lot. It wastes a lot of space and decreases density. 619 Congress Avenue is a great lot, though. It's right across from the Intercontinental Stephen F. Austin hotel and the Roaring Fork, right near the Paramount theater. There's a reason there's a market for this hotel. It's because there's so much around there.

This is being discussed a bit in the compilation thread.

As for JW's size, a bunch of smaller hotels wouldn't attract the conventions this large space will, right?

Hmm, I really have no idea. Hotel space is hotel space, right? Granted, some of those lots would probably be developed as something other than hotels, but the JW Marriott contains a lot of wasted space. Only one part of it has any verticality. Smaller lots could have resulted in a lot more density and verticality. But whatevs, I still like the building, I guess. I just hate this move toward big lots. It diminishes the richness and diversity of a city.

I agree. I'm ok with a few like the JW, but just a few. The rest I'd rather see on smaller lots.

Convention hotels need lateral space to put 1000+ people in a single floor event. So they are going to take a larger footprint by necessity. If u notice, the tower/room portion of jw only takes up a fraction of the lot.

Yeah, convention hotels are a completely different animal than regular hotels. They almost serve more of a utilitarian purpose than being simply a business. Really if the JW Marriott and Fairmont hadn't happen/don't happen on the blocks they're planned for, it would be hard to get one built anywhere else in downtown because of their size. There aren't many full vacant blocks left that would allow a big and tall tower.

so the city was supposed to decide on the 14th right?

I don't think the city has made any decision yet.

From that article above:

There's no mention of a video from the 14th on their website either. This is where we'll likely find it.

http://austintexas.gov/department/channel-6

Any news on this one?

Another one bits the dust....have developers decided the Austin's hotel market is adequate as it is? It appears they have. How can anyone come to that conclusion?

I know you're just a troll (probably from Houston or something) but you do realize it's been only a little over a month since we learned about this project, right? Stop being ridiculous.

Not sure if serious. This one has just started the permitting process. And what other hotel projects have "bit the dust"?

I'm no troll and I've lived here for 40+ years...I will continue to be a skeptic until projects such as the Fairmont are built..

Why?

Is it something you do in every facet of your life? Do you like bringing others down? Or do you enjoy going against the majority, so in case you're right you get to say "I told you so?"

It doesn't seem like a very fun way to go through life.

Spaceman is the type of person that will say or think, "I believe it when I see." I was like that I one time, and still am from time to time. Example Chicago Spire.

But don't let anyone on this board get the best of ya.

It amazes me that anyone should have to be thick skinned....on a skyscraper forum?!?!. Really??? We're talking about buildings and transportation for the most part, not human rights and politics or religion. Everyone here has a right to his or her opinion, positive or negative, all positive or all negative, and everyone here has a right to agree or disagree. Lzppjg, I thought your response to spaceman a bit shitty...
And I too am a skeptic and usually have an opposite opinion from the majority here. If that brings you or anyone "down", then I'm not the only one here who needs to get a life.

I was asking legitimate questions. I want to know why he does it. I'm trying to get inside the mind of Spaceman.

I wasn't writing it in a shitty tone. Y'all need to chill.

I can see how it looks pretty shitty. Sorry about that, Spaceman.

I've been a member of a lot of message boards over the last 15 years, and there are always a couple people that like to go against the grain a bit. There's a reason that the photo of the Debbie Downer from SNL gets posted on boards all the time. I just wanted to know if it's something he always does, or if it's just something he does on this site.