AUSTIN | JW Marriott Convention Center Hotel | 408 FT | 34 Floors | Complete

[Austinite101]

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

Lol, we have become a bit spoiled. I was looking at a thing of Kevin's model and you can't even see our old sky line from 10 years ago before Frost was built. It is amazing.

Although you folks over in Orlando did almost get a HSR. I think it is safe to say 98% of the forum was highly jealous of y'all for the HSR. But then your goofy gov when and screwed the pooch on that one.

He made a new model?

[Dale]

Well, the governor did partially redeem himself today by granting final approval to our 61-mile long commuter rail system which should start immediately and be finished early 2014. Also, this little number just broke ground last week:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXJdAVMEoAg

But back to Austin.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by Austinite101

He made a new model?

I set it up the other day to get some updated photos of it...but, I noticed that I had lined up one of the base plates incorrectly, so the model wasn't lined up properly. It was off by a block. So I'll have to set it up again and take more photos.

I'm going to blame the weather. I set it up outside so that I can some far away "skyline shots" and nice aerial type views. It's miserably hot outside right now, so it isn't pleasant. Plus, it would be better to try to take photos with it being overcast. It's so bright and sunny outside that it makes for bad photos with either very bright spots or dark shadows. I wish I had a huge storage building/warehouse for the thing. haha

[Somnio]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

I know that the Austin hotel is not a JW (unfortunately), but that doesn't mean that they can't change the design.

The Austin project is supposed to be a Marriott Marquis, which I know nothing about except there are only currently three which are located in New York, San Francisco, and Atlanta. There is also one currently planned for Washington DC. Seems like it may be more than your standard Marriott.

The hotel is planned to be a 1,003-room Marriott Marquis.

http://www.statesman.com/business/au...n-1571176.html

[Jdawgboy]

It may be more than your standard Marriott but it will be one ugly as heck Marriott if they don't change the design. The more I look at it, the more I want the other convention center hotel to succeed and be built.

[Somnio]

I may be in the minority, but the design (which you can tell very little about from that black and white photo) doesn't look terrible to my eyes, and it it is vastly superior to a massive empty lot in the middle of downtown on Congress Avenue.

Of course I hope for an even better design, but come on man, this is horrendous, and the sooner something is built, the better.

[migol24]

^^ i think it's a case of what do you call it? like when you see a hotter girl, (if you're a straight guy) you kinda think that the less hot girl is lame. but the less hot girl is still cute and i agree with you. she's not thaaat great... but will still do for keeping some company.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by migol24

^^ i think it's a case of what do you call it? like when you see a hotter girl, (if you're a straight guy) you kinda think that the less hot girl is lame. but the less hot girl is still cute and i agree with you. she's not thaaat great... but will still do for keeping some company.

Your analogy inspired my new avatar.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by migol24

^^ i think it's a case of what do you call it? like when you see a hotter girl, (if you're a straight guy) you kinda think that the less hot girl is lame. but the less hot girl is still cute and i agree with you. she's not thaaat great... but will still do for keeping some company.

You forgot to mention the few beers you had prior to "keeping some company" with the less hot girl.

[migol24]

Originally Posted by Hill Country

You forgot to mention the few beers you had prior to "keeping some company" with the less hot girl.

Well, Austin isn't such a sober city so there you go. Funny thing is, i was a little buzzed when i wrote that post.

[LoneStarMike]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

The JW in Indy is a decent design. The Marriott in Austin is not a JW. It is a lesser brand.

Maybe. Maybe not. Check this out press release from Marriott's website: (and click on the tiny photo of the hotel which opens a larger version in a separate window.)

Stunning JW Marriott Marquis Miami Redefines Luxury in Downtown Miami

The press release notes: (emphasis added)

The JW Marriott brand is reserved for select luxury properties in key gateway cities and distinctive resort locations. These elegant hotels offer accomplished travelers a luxury travel experience with a distinct sense of place that appropriately reflects the genuine flavor of their surroundings. Guests will experience a hotel where sophisticated travelers can celebrate success on their terms.

Within the brand, the “Marquis” designation is reserved for select downtown properties that offer the highest levels of comfort, technology, personal service, meeting facilities, privacy and world class amenities. The JW Marriott Marquis Miami is the company’s first JW property to be classified a “Marquis”. A second 1,612-room JW Marriott Marquis is scheduled to open in Dubai in 2011.

And then there's this from youtube:

• Video Link

It shows the J W Marriott Marquis in Miami during the first part, but the rest of the video is about how technologically advanced the hotel is (Thanks to Cisco) Something like this I could see on Congress Avenue - especially considering how high-tech Austin is.

To me, the tower portion of the black & white rendering posted earlier looks like the 2007 rendering, (when the project would have had 3 hotels). I can't remember what the three hotel brands were in the first version, but when the project got cut to two hotels,there was to be an 850-room Convention Center Hotel and a 150-room JW Marriott.

So I'm holding out hope this will end up being a J W Marriott Marquis and the Austin American Statesman just left out the "JW" part in the article. And I'm hoping that the black & white rendering is just showing the placement of the tower, but not the actual design.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by LoneStarMike

Maybe. Maybe not. Check this out press release from Marriott's website: (and click on the tiny photo of the hotel which opens a larger version in a separate window.)

To me, the tower portion of the black & white rendering posted earlier looks like the 2007 rendering, (when the project would have had 3 hotels). I can't remember what the three hotel brands were in the first version, but when the project got cut to two hotels,there was to be an 850-room Convention Center Hotel and a 150-room JW Marriott.

So I'm holding out hope this will end up being a J W Marriott Marquis and the Austin American Statesman just left out the "JW" part in the article. And I'm hoping that the black & white rendering is just showing the placement of the tower, but not the actual design.

There is a difference between a JW Marriott Marquis (only in Miami and Dubai), a JW Marriott (46 various hotels worldwide), and the Marriott Marquis (Atlanta, New York City, San Francisco, and soon-to-be Washington, D.C.). The design that has been shown is pretty consistent with a Marriott Marquis, so I'm not holding my breath for something nicer.

[LoneStarMike]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

There is a difference between a JW Marriott Marquis (only in Miami and Dubai), a JW Marriott (46 various hotels worldwide), and the Marriott Marquis (Atlanta, New York City, San Francisco, and soon-to-be Washington, D.C.)

Yeah, I read the press release about the JW Marriott Marquis that I posted, so I'm aware of the differences between JW Marriott and JW Marriott Marquis. I'm not as familiar with the "regular" Marriott Marquis because there's only three of them (the 4th in DC is still under construction.)
And speaking of Washington DC, here is the press release and rendering for that one.

The design that has been shown is pretty consistent with a Marriott Marquis, so I'm not holding my breath for something nicer.

Here's the original 2007 rendering that was posted on Houstonarchitecture.com.



The same rending in a smaller version is also on Emporis and apparently was provided by HOK (who incidentally designed the JW Marriott in Indianapolis and is also a White Lodging property.

HOK was also the architect of the Omni Convention Center Hotel in Fort Worth It just seems odd to me that an architect would design two very nice convention center hotels in two other cities, and then give us this monstrosity for our convention center hotel - on Congress Avenue, no less. Congress is supposed to be Austin's "grand" avenue, not Austin's "bland" avenue.

The point I was trying to make earlier was that - to me - it looks like all they did was make that tallest tower from the 2007 version "L-shaped" and plopped it on a base simply to show where the tower portion would be in relation to the base in this latest rendering that we've seen.

I've seen more than one rendering that ended up not looking at all like the finished project.

Anyone remember the rendering of that beautiful, greenery-draped parking garage attached to the Texas Monthly Building? Well, the garage got built but I still don't see any hanging greenery (and most likely never will.)

Or how about the boutique hotel at 416 Congress? The first rendering wasn't very detailed and the building wasn't very tall. The second rendering showed more detail and the building was much taller.

Also, this newest rendering was released before news of the second convention center hotel. White Lodging may have to upgrade their design if they want to compete with the Manchester Financial Group project.

Heck, when Major Littlefield found out that the Scarbrough Building was going to be taller than his, he changed the design of the Littlefield Building to add an additional two floors.

Designs can (and do) change and that's been happening for 100 years.

So I'm going to hold my breath (and cross my fingers) a little while longer.

[KevinFromTexas]

So I tried sending them an email and got some error message. Don't know what to do next. I guess maybe try for the architects. I was hoping to contact White Lodging so that I could get the height of the Hyatt Place hotel as well.

[the Genral]

@ $350 Million dollars, 1035 rooms and 50 floors, VS perhaps $200 - $250 million for 1000 rooms and up to 30 floors, what incentive would White Lodging have to go higher? Since their first proposal was 1000 rooms for $185 Million, I figured with inflation perhaps their cost would be higher but not even close to Manchester's costs. Is it worth spending 10's of millions of dollars more just to be taller? And yes I know better building materials factor into the Manchester proposal's price tag, but I read somewhere that after a certain floor count, contruction costs jump significantly. I just don't see any chance that WL would want or need to be any taller or nicer even if their competition is proposing a superior structure. Seems their plan is simple, provide 1000 rooms and ample meeting space within close proximity to the convention center and Austin's entertainment district. Manchester seems to want to up that ante with a world class addition to the Austin skyline surpassing almost all other hotels in the country including NYC in height or at least number of floors and he's willing to shell out the cash to do it.

[KevinFromTexas]

Well White Lodging owns the property now. So they have almost the entire block to build on. I'm not sure they really care about bragging rights for biggest and tallest. So the only other reason they would go taller is out of necessity. And since they have the entire block (lots of room to build on), the only other reason to go higher would be if they added something to the development. Let's say they added 100 condos or 200 apartments. That would increase the square footage which would require more height. And with the competition coming from Manchester, I doubt WL would add more hotel rooms. The two hotels are going to have their work cut out for them as it is finding guests to fill them. I think there is and will be a continued need for these two hotels, but I doubt they'll be adding more rooms, UNLESS one of them cancels their project and the other decides to pick up the slack and add more.

I doubt WL cares about bragging rights, and I don't even think Manchester does either. It's not like Austin is a mecca for hotels, let alone tall ones, so they don't exactly have much competition for biggest and tallest title here.

[BevoLJ]

2015. So now we kinda have a date.

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/ne...ess+Journal%29

Marriott Marquis to open downtown in 2015
Austin Business Journal - by Cody Lyon , Staff Writer
Date: Thursday, August 4, 2011, 5:25pm CDT - Last Modified: Thursday, August 4, 2011, 6:04pm CDT

Marriott Hotels and Resorts will open a 1,003-room Marriott Marquis hotel in downtown Austin in 2015 as scheduled, the company announced Thursday.

The Austin Marriott Marquis, which will be owned and operated by White Lodging Services Corp. , is scheduled to break ground mid-2012 and will offer 110,000 square feet of flexible meeting space.

The hotel’s construction should generate more than 545 full-time construction jobs, and the hotel will employ 750 when it opens, Marriott said.

The hotel, at Congress Avenue and Second Street, will be two blocks from the Austin Convention Center. Plans call for multiple food and beverage venues, 374 underground parking spaces and a 4,500-square-foot fitness center. The hotel will be part of Marriott International’s signature Marriott Hotels & Resorts brand.

...

[MightyYoda]

http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/1...0/4052444.html

Let the complaining begin.... I wish the two hotels were switched though having the Manchester hotel there will hopefully be the catalyst for redevelopment of the area as flood control is finished. Uninspired is all that comes to mind when looking at that rendering. I was hoping seeing it in color would change my mind.

[the Genral]

Yikes!The east side of the hotel looks like a huge flat and uninspired wall of windows. It will block out the rest of the city behind it. Dang

[BevoLJ]

http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/1...0/4052444.html