Houston's about to get a hotel like nothing it's ever seen before. (That's gonna be tough, because most of us have seen some pretty strange stuff on the Internet.) Midway, Valencia Group, and Gensler—the trio that bought Space City the Hotel Sorella—are building Hotel Alessandra in GreenStreet. We snapped Midway director of leasing Suzanne Anderson and EVP of development Jamie Bryant, who say they saw a lack of quality hotel product Downtown (particularly since most of the nice facilities Downtown were built in the ‘80s).

The most unique feature of Hotel Alessandra is the lobby, way up on the 24th floor. Jamie tells us it uses Houston's skyline as an amenity, and checking in surrounded by the city will be an experience of its own. On top of that is the 25th-floor pool, event deck, and destination bar/restaurant. Gensler's design includes a partially retractable glass roof. (No more rain delays during check-in.) Down on solid ground, the atrium will have 10k SF of sunny meeting space and a fitness facility, and will provide views of the whole tower. The 225-room hotel will open in late 2016.