A key government agency in Houston has agreed to move forward on negotiations over building a $120 million W Hotel in the city’s downtown convention district, the Houston Chronicle reports.
An 8-2 vote by the Houston First Corp – which runs the city’s convention centre and related operations – propels negotiations over the proposed 308-room hotel toward a final agreement expected to include $42.6 million in tax breaks, which would then have to be approved by the City Council.
The hotel itself will be privately funded and would be built on top of the ten-storey Partnership Tower near the George R Brown Convention Centre. The hotel would add an additional 12 or 13 floors to the tower, which was designed with such an addition in mind.
Houston First manages the Partnership Tower and convention centre as well as the Hilton Americas-Houston hotel, the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, and the Wortham Theater Centre.
The new hotel would be the first property under Marriott’s W brand in Houston; Dallas and Austin are the other Texas cities with W hotels.
