JW Marriott Austin Announces Topping Out Construction Milestone

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- JW Marriott Austin® announced today that the hotel has reached its final construction height or "topped out." When the JW Marriott Austin opens, it will be the largest hotel in Austin and the largest JW Marriott hotel in the United States.

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Slated to open on March 1, 2015, construction began on the 1,200,000-square-foot hotel in August 2012. More than 286,000 rooms have already been contracted with first groups arriving the day the hotel opens. The 34-story JW Marriott Austin was designed to house large conventions and meetings with more than 112,000 square feet of event space, 42 meeting rooms and 1,012 guest rooms.

Several large conventions have already been booked through 2020, including annual meetings for the Specialty Tools and Fasteners Distributors Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, South by Southwest Festival and the 2017 Professional Convention Management Association's Convening Leaders annual meeting.

"We are excited to be one step closer to showcasing Austin as a meetings and convention hub for businesses and organizations worldwide," Bob Lander, president and CEO of the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau, said. "To already have more than 280,000 rooms contracted shows the demand for this hotel and the desire businesses have to come to Austin."

The JW Marriott Austin, which is located on the square block bounded by Second and Third Streets and Brazos Street and Congress Avenue in downtown Austin, will employ more than 700 people upon opening. The hotel is expected to generate more than $16 million in taxes annually, and $5 million to $6 million will go directly to the City of Austin, according to the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau.

"This is an exciting day for Austin.  A few months after becoming Mayor, I gave a speech calling for a convention center hotel to be built in downtown Austin. The topping out of this tremendous project represents how this vision is now a reality," Mayor Lee Leffingwell said. "Austin is increasingly an international destination, and the addition of this international-caliber hotel helps secure our city as a premier world destination."

The hotel will feature three restaurants including a full-service regional Italian restaurant, a restaurant highlighting local Texas cuisine and a restaurant with a walk-up food truck-style window on Congress Ave. The JW Marriott Austin will also achieve a LEED Silver certification and two-star Austin Energy Green Building rating.

"We look forward to being in the heart of downtown Austin and offering new restaurants and event space for everyone," Scott Blalock, general manager for JW Marriott Austin, said. "Having this number of hotel rooms under one roof will allow Austin to bring in conferences and large national conventions for which it could not otherwise compete."

White Lodging, which manages 23 other properties in Austin and Round Rock, will manage the JW Marriott. The company will employ more than 1,700 people in the greater Austin area when the JW Marriott opens, making it one of the area's largest private employers.

About JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts - JW Marriott is part of Marriott International's luxury portfolio and consists of beautiful properties in gateway cities and distinctive resort locations around the world. These elegant hotels cater to today's sophisticated, self-assured travelers, offering them the quiet luxury they seek in a warmly authentic, relaxed atmosphere lacking in pretense. JW Marriott properties artfully provide highly crafted, anticipatory experiences that are reflective of their locale so that their guests have the time to focus on what is most important to them. Currently, there are 63 JW Marriott hotels in 25 countries; by 2016 the portfolio is expected to encompass more than 90 properties over 30 countries. Visit us online, jwmarriott.com, @jwmarriott and facebook.com/JWMarriott.

About White Lodging - Established in 1985 and headquartered in Merrillville, IN, White Lodging is a fully integrated developer, owner and manager of premium brand hotels – a recognized leader that consistently delivers superior, leading-brand hotel experiences and premium returns on investment among mid- to-large scale hotels across the country. With over 25 years of expertise, White Lodging continues to break ground as one of the fastest-growing independent hospitality companies in the country. Its managed portfolio of more than 170 hotels in 21 states encompasses representation of the following leading brand affiliations: Marriott International, Hyatt Global, Hilton Worldwide, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Intercontinental Hotel Group. For more information about White Lodging, please visit www.whitelodging.com or call (219) 472-2861.

Media Contact:
Lindsay Ketchum or Lia Pette
Elizabeth Christian & Associates Public Relations
[email protected] or [email protected], 512-472-9599

SOURCE White Lodging