A 1970s Apartment Building Becomes a Boutique Hotel on South Lamar

This view of the hotel looking east from the front of the property is actually the same perspective as the street view below, believe it or not — the hotel plan adds an extra floor to the existing apartment structure, among other changes. Image: Chioco Design

A project to renovate a former apartment complex on South Lamar Boulevard into an 84-room boutique hotel is moving forward, according to industry sources connected with the project and a new set of renderings from local architects Chioco Design.

The site is a roughly 1.3-acre collection of adjacent addresses at 2121 and 2119 South Lamar Boulevard, currently occupied by the now-closed Walden Park Apartments and a small office building near the street, both of which date back to the early 1970s. Most of the site is currently used as extra parking for Loro, the Asian/Texan fusion restaurant next door founded by local supergroup Aaron Franklin and Tyson Cole — this plan doesn’t impact the restaurant beyond the potential removal of some of its parking space, for what it’s worth. (In fact, you might easily argue its proximity to the new hotel represents a major amenity.)

A view of the hotel’s interior courtyard and pool. Image: Chioco Design

Unlike the majority of new developments currently on the boards in this area, according to current city permits for the project this boutique hotel plan would significantly adapt the existing buildings on the site, rather than fully demolishing them and starting anew — as seen in these renderings of the plan from Chioco Design, the original buildings are essentially unrecognizable, but the plan for the site is still technically a remodel. The project adapts the old apartment structure at the rear of the site into the main hotel with a central pool, and adds additional retail and restaurant use to the front office building.

The owners of the site are 3423 Holdings, an entity connected with local developers Ben and Peter Barlin. There’s no indication of who will operate the hotel at this time, but an entity known as 3423 Hotel Management, LLC incorporated with Peter Barlin as a member in 2021. Current city filings simply call the plan the South Lamar Hotel. 

Image: Chioco Design

Believe it or not, if built to these specifications the project has the potential to be one of the most environmentally friendly hotels in the city — adaptive reuse is always the best option for lowering a building’s carbon footprint, even with the significant modifications to the overall appearance of the structure seen here. There’s no timeline for the hotel’s construction available at the moment, but we’re still looking forward to watching this project do something new with something old.