The historic Samuel F. Carter Building at 806 Main is getting a facelift and a whole bunch of visitors. Pearl Hospitality is converting the 102-year-old building into a 323-key JW Marriott. (Above, Pearl Hospitality CEO Pritesh Patel with Mayor Annise Parker at the announcement.) The luxury hotel will open in spring 2014. Its the first JW Marriott in Downtown and is mere blocks from some iconic workplaces: Chase Tower, the Esperson Building, and Pennzoil Place. (Its also across the street from BG Group Place.)

The $81M renovation is being done in PPP with the City of Houston: Mayor Parker applauded the project for putting a vacant building into productive use, restoring a historic structure, and creating jobs. (Also clearing out any ghosts hiding in there.) The City is providing $7.4M for the renovation from EDI grant and Section 108 funds; HUD indicated the projects meets the Community Development Block Grant national objective of primarily benefiting low- and moderate-income people through job creation. The remainder of funding is $31M of owner equity and $43M in senior bank financing.