Since it was announced in June of 2011, there has not been any physical progress on the site of the proposed Fairmont Austin Hotel. Most of the work has been happening behind the scenes up to this point, but it seems that construction could finally begin before the end of the year.
The 1000+ room hotel will rise on the corner of Red River and Cesar Chavez, just east of the Convention Center.
Once work starts, don’t expect to see vertical construction progress any time soon. First, construction crews must complete all the underground utility work, which involves trenching and excavation around the site (including Cesar Chavez, Red River, and Sabine Streets). Existing overhead lines are being buried, and new utilities are also being installed to serve the hotel.
Crews will also have to excavate 20 to 30+ feet below the existing grade to start the foundation work and to make room for underground parking structure (similar to the JW Marriott). Then, we will start to see the 50-story building start to rise.
According to City documents, permits should be issued soon for the utility work and tie-back/shoring work. Previous reports projected the construction start date for this November, however Manchester updated their timeline in a recent Skift article: “This puts us on track to break ground in January and open in the fall of 2016.”
The $350-million project is being developed by the Texas subsidiary of San Diego-based Manchester Financial Group. Gensler is the architect, and Austin-based dwg. is the project’s landscape architect.
