It was over a year ago that AustinTowers.net reported on the prospect of another downtown Austin hotel, Homewood Suites, a Hilton Hotel brand proposed to deliver 150 rooms and a 17 story building. This week, demolition of the former Brinks Security building at 78 and 80 East Avenue appears to have wrapped up in preparation for construction.
Brinks building before demolition.
The property is owned by East Avenue Investments, LLC, which acquired the site in 2013.
After demo. Shore Condos in background to left. Hotel Van Zandt to right.
The site is located on the eastern edge of the burgeoning Rainey Street district, which has such close proximity to the Austin Convention Center that hotel operators are jockeying for position. Including this Homewood Suites effort, there have been at least four hotels nearby that are either planned, under construction, or recently completed.
The eastern elevation will be the most visible to the highway. The plans show the first four floors will be garage parking, masked by a metal, architectural, facade that’s matched at the very top of the building as mechanical screening.
To the south along East Avenue, the much anticipated proposal for a boutique Kimber Modern Rainey hotel recently announced that Kimber Cavendish is no longer involved, and what becomes of that project is yet to be seen. The Fairmont Hotel, with three cranes on their construction site, looks to be adding a new floor every week or so. Hotel Van Zandt recently opened and is already getting great reviews from visitors and the neighborhood.
-Jude
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