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Houston First, the city's convention arm, is scheduled to vote Thursday on a deal to build a W Hotel in Downtown Houston. The hotel will be atop the Partnership Tower at 701 Avenida de las Americas, the Houston Chronicle reports, and joins a crowded pipeline of Houston hotel development.
Houston First manages more than 10 city-owned buildings, including Partnership Tower, a new 10-story office building near George R. Brown Convention Center. Other assets include Hilton Americas-Houston hotel, Jones Hall for the Performing Arts and Wortham Theater Center.
The board will discuss a preliminary agreement with Texas Hospitality Partners to develop, finance and operate the hotel and lease air rights from Houston First. The deal would need a final approval from the Houston City Council.
The $120M project could create more than 1,000 construction and permanent jobs, Texas Hospitality Partners' Al Kashani told the Chronicle.
In 2014, Houston First requested proposals to build a new downtown hotel, which was the original plan for the Partnership Tower, and the building was designed to support one. Texas Hospitality Partners and the hotel's parent company, Marriott, agreed to join forces in February to complete the project.
Nationally and in Houston, hotel construction is exploding. In April, Marcus & Millichap reported 23,800 rooms under construction and another 31,300 expected to break ground next year across Texas. Houston is in the top five U.S. markets for hotel development this year, according to Trepp. Downtown Houston has been the epicenter of our hotel pipeline, particularly as the city tries to net more conventions and larger events like the World Cup or the NCAA Final Four.
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