Fifth and Trinity Hotel Project Could Be Downtown Austin’s Next Groundbreaking

A view of the Hotel Trinity project at the corner of East Fifth and Trinity Streets. Image: PFVS Architects

The 13-story hotel planned as part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection brand by local hospitality firm White Lodging could kick off demolition and construction at the southwest corner of East Fifth and Trinity Streets in downtown Austin before the end of the year, according to recent city permit documents, with demolition and site prep work currently scheduled to start here as soon as September.

Street closure permits for the construction of the building known as the Hotel Trinity, which will occupy an approximately 0.4-acre land assembly including tracts from 307 to 311 East Fifth Street, will close one traffic lane, street parking, and the sidewalk on East Fifth Street; along with extra sidewalk closures on Trinity Street at the project’s eastern frontage. Permits indicate that these closures will continue until the project’s completion in mid-2026. The 258-room hotel, developed by a team including White Lodging, HR Green, DPR Construction, and PFVS Architects, will replace two storefronts dating back to roughly the 1920s, including former event venue Trinity Hall and the shuttered restaurant House (née Russian House).

A view of the hotel with its surroundings — you’ll note that the other Marriott property next door is also limited by the setback requirements of the downtown parks overlay. Image: PFVS Architects

Although it’s only rising a mere 13 floors due to the invisible constraints of a fairly silly parks overlay rule, which we’ve complained about extensively since in this case the code simply protects the Brush Square fire station from shadows, we’re still getting hyped and shotgunning beers and taking turns punching each other in the head from sheer excitement about this project moving forward. And why is that, you ask, quietly texting 911 under the table — well, you might not have noticed this since there’s still lots of cranes downtown, but if the project moves forward with this stated timeline it’ll be the first major groundbreaking in downtown Austin since early 2023.

A view of the hotel project’s streetscape and retail at the corner of East Fifth and Trinity Streets. Image: PFVS Architects

Although our friends in West Campus are still chugging along with new residential buildings all the time, going more than a full year without a new tower starting construction downtown hasn’t been the norm for the last decade or so. We’re hoping this project ends that dry spell soon, but until then, nearly any building moving forward downtown is a newsworthy event. And now you know!