Hotel Builds are Ratcheting Up in Austin
When completed in the fall of 2019, Magdalena Hotel and Condominiums will be the largest hotel to date for noted Texas hotelier, Liz Lambert and her Austin-based Bunkhouse hospitality group.
AUSTIN, TX—More than 3,800 rooms are under construction in Austin, accounting for 10% of current inventory, according to a second half 2018 hospitality report by Marcus & Millichap. One of those properties is underway in the SoCo district.
When completed in the fall of 2019, Magdalena Hotel and Condominiums will be the largest hotel to date for noted Texas hotelier, Liz Lambert and her Austin-based Bunkhouse hospitality group, which operates the nearby Austin Motel, Hotel San José and Hotel Saint Cecilia in the SoCo district. Owners of the project are Hotel Magdalena Joint Venture LLC and Woodbine Development Corporation.
MYCON has started construction on the hotel and condo project located at 110 Academy Dr. and Music Lane just off South Congress Avenue. The development will include a five-story 95-room boutique hotel with event space, a restaurant and seven condominiums.
Designed by Lake Flato Architects, plans call for the project to be laid out in four buildings. The hotel will be approximately 52,255 square feet and the condominiums will be 17,765 square feet. The project will include retro custom finishes that will require extensive coordination between the project team and owners.
“We are utilizing lean construction methods along with incorporating sustainable design features that will be a standout for this boutique hotel and condominium project,” Bryant Welsh, MYCON’s senior project manager, tells GlobeSt.com. “As the general contractor for this high-profile project in Austin, we were honored to be selected by the owners Hotel Magdalena Joint Venture LLC and Woodbine Development Corporation to build this jewel.”
In addition, the design includes a cistern rainwater system that will collect 40,000 gallons of rainwater for irrigation use on the site. To minimize waste to landfill, 75% of construction waste will be diverted to reuse, salvage or recycle.
“The building site is relatively small with limited access in a highly congested urban setting,” says Welch. “The detailed logistical plans range from materials management to inspections to quality control checks.”
Midyear occupancy plummeted 150 basis points in Austin to 72.7%. And, limited listings have driven competition for hotel properties in the metro, lifting average prices 5% to $103,900 per room. Many buyers in Austin are targeting larger assets with more than 100 rooms, according to the Marcus & Millichap report.