Spotted: Site Prep for New Marriott, plus Fareground’s Plaza

Last week I spotted progress on two developments we’ve been watching closely — the new Marriott Hotel, and Fareground, the food hall taking over the plaza at One Eleven Congress. 

First, here’s a look at the demo project in the early stages at Cesar Chavez and Trinity Streets, making way for the new Marriott’s construction by clearing the lot of a few businesses, including the Christian Science Reading Room and a small Formula One showroom for the Circuit of the Americas. There’s basically just a fence up right now.

For a reminder of what’s going to be built behind the new chain link fence, expect the new Marriott to resemble the rendering below.

Southern (left) and eastern (right) views of the new Marriott structure planned downtown. Photo courtesy of HKS Architects.

It appears the Christian Science Reading Room has already relocated.

I’m sure the F1 showroom will find other accommodations too.

That purple restaurant space on the corner, address 101 San Jacinto Boulevard, has already been pretty much vacant for a while now.

The site previously housed a South American restaurant named Dona Emilia’s, which later changed its name to Latin Cafe, and then even later to Casa Chapala.

Now, let’s check out Fareground. The exterior portion of the food hall is already pretty much open to pedestrians, but none of the features are operating yet. Still, it’s easy to see the potential of the space, and downtown folks already seem to enjoy spending time in its lush courtyard setting.