Greater Houston
HOUSTON
Construction will soon begin on a 1,000-room Marriott Marquis, which will be connected to the George R. Brown Convention Center. The hotel is slated for completion by mid-2016.
Slated to open this month, JW Marriott Houston Downtown is the $80.8 million conversion of a heritage building, offering 323 rooms and 16,000 square feet of space.
The $58 million transformation of Buffalo Bayou Park is slated for completion by spring 2015.
CONROE
Lone Star Executive Airport will soon include its own Customs Claims Area, expected to significantly boost international traffic in the county.
THE WOODLANDS
The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center is in the midst of a $60 million upgrade that includes a new guest room wing and update of the property’s 60,000-square-foot conference center. A new 1,000-foot lazy river attraction is now open.
The 146-room Hyatt Place Houston/The Woodlands, which opened in January, offers 6,000-plus square feet of flexible space.
SAN ANTONIO
SAN ANTONIO
Groundbreaking began in late 2013 on the $325 million expansion of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. The center will remain in full operation throughout the expansion, slated for completion in mid-2016.
The Briscoe Western Art Museum, an $18 million renovation of the former San Antonio Library, opened in October 2013. The museum features an outdoor events plaza and 40,000 square feet of gallery and exhibition space.
The striking new $205 million, event-capable Tobin Center for the Performing Arts will debut this month, featuring world-class acoustics and a revolutionary movable seating system.
AUSTIN
AUSTIN
The 1,102-room JW Marriott Austin is scheduled to open in February 2015. Offering 110,500 square feet of space, it will be Austin’s largest hotel and the largest JW Marriott in the U.S.
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Targeting a spring 2015 opening, the 327-room Hotel Van Zandt will offer 12,000 square feet of meeting space.
The 366-room Westin Austin Downtown, slated to open in July 2015, will feature 15,000 square feet of space.
Plans call for a 160-room Hotel ZaZa in Austin, joining sister properties in Dallas and Houston.
Aiming for a 2017 opening, the Fairmont Austin at Red River and Cesar Chavez will offer more than 1,000 rooms and 100,000-plus square feet of function space.
Metroplex
DALLAS
Following a multimillion-dollar expansion, Renaissance Dallas Hotel now offers 50,000 square feet of upscale meeting space. Unveiled in June, the expansion includes the 10,900-square-foot City View Ballroom and City View Terrace, equipped for large-scale business and social events in an indoor and outdoor rooftop setting. The 16,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom is slated to debut this month.
The Joule Dallas recently completed a comprehensive two-year “transformational expansion,” including 29 new rooms, suites and multistory penthouses, and 14,000 square feet of meeting space.
The reopened Cloud Nine at Reunion Tower offers diverse options for daytime or evening gatherings.
FORT WORTH
Discussions are under way to expand Fort Worth’s downtown convention campus, including replacing the outdated arena attached to the Fort Worth Convention Center with flexible exhibit, ballroom and event space; constructing a new multiuse arena adjacent to the Will Rogers Memorial Center; and increasing downtown hotel space by at least 1,400 rooms, including a second headquarters hotel.
Sundance Square now offers a 55,000-square-foot, event-capable public plaza, including a permanent stage for events.
IRVING
Dallas Area Rapid Transit now connects Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)International Airport to stops such as the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas and downtown Dallas.
Slated to open in the second quarter of 2016, a 350-room, full-service Westin hotel will be connected by skybridge to the convention center. The headquarters hotel will include 20,000 square feet of additional meeting space and a 300-space parking garage.
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Also targeting an early 2016 opening is the $165 million Irving Music Factory. This long-awaited entertainment district development will include a multifunctional indoor and outdoor amphitheater and concert venue, nine or more full-service restaurants and an open-air plaza for outdoor festivals and events.
FRISCO
Set to debut this month, the $10 million expansion of the Sheraton Stonebriar Hotel will add 51 guest rooms, a new outdoor pool and an additional 5,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
Targeting completion by fall 2016, construction is under way on the new $115 million Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters & Training Facility, a 12,000-seat multiuse event center with 112,000 square feet of floor space.
ARLINGTON
South Street Patio is a new downtown venue for live music and private events.
The restored Howell Family Farm offers a rustic yet elegant new venue for groups.
GRAPEVINE
Opened earlier this year, the 301-room Courtyard/TownPlace Suites by Marriott has more than 19,000 square feet of meeting space.
PLANO
Two properties are scheduled to open this fall: the 293-room Hilton Dallas/Plano Granite Park Hotel, with 32,000 square feet of meeting space, including two ballrooms, and the 129-room Cambria Suites, the brand’s first hotel in Texas, featuring 2,400 square feet of function space.
MESQUITE
The former Big Town Exhibition Hall was renovated into Big Town Events Center, offering 80,000 square feet of exhibit space.
Gulf Coast
GALVESTON
In November, Moody Gardens will introduce Ice Land, featuring characters from SpongeBob SquarePants and holiday-themed figures sculpted from 900 tons of ice.
The 42-room Harbor House Hotel and Marina reopened in February following a comprehensive $1.7 million renovation.
BEAUMONT
The new downtown Event Centre offers 16,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space.
As of February 2013, American Airlines is operating daily flights between Beaumont’s Jack Brooks Regional Airport and DFW International Airport.
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PORT ARTHUR
The 4,100-acre Sea Rim State Park reopened in June following more than $2 million in visitor improvements.
The Hampton Inn & Suites just underwent a complete renovation, while TownePlace Suites Beaumont Port Arthur and Suburban Extended Stay Hotel are two new Port Arthur hotels.
ROCKPORT-FULTON
The new meetings-capable History Center for Aransas County opened in May.
West/Central Texas
AMARILLO
Palo Duro Canyon State Park is home to the new Mack Dick Group Pavilion, featuring a zipline experience and gathering space.
LUBBOCK
Slated to open in spring 2015, the 100-room Arbor Hotel and Conference Center will offer 3,000 square feet of conference space.
The Civic Center Theater and Moe Turner Banquet Hall at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center will close in mid-2015 for minor renovations to be completed by October 2015.
EL PASO
Work continues on multiple projects under El Paso’s $500 million Quality of Life Bond, including a new multipurpose performing arts and entertainment facility. Projects are slated for completion by 2015.
Slated to open in early 2015, a new Hotel Indigo will offer roughly 120 rooms, with a 220-room Westin property scheduled to open by early 2016, and a 92-room Aloft Hotel debuting later in the year.
WICHITA FALLS
The Multi-Purpose Events Center is installing a new digital scoreboard.
South Texas
CORPUS CHRISTI
Construction is nearly finished on the 40-acre Schlitterbahn Corpus Christi waterpark, including the new 90-room Schlitterbahn Corpus Christi hotel.
The Springhill Suites Corpus Christi recently debuted with 119 suites and 1,500 square feet of meeting space. Also newly opened is the 107-suite TownePlace Suites Corpus Christi.
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND
In August, space travel operator SpaceX announced that it had selected nearby Boca Chica beach for its commercial launch facility.
MCALLEN
A 150-room Embassy Suites is scheduled to open in September 2015 at the McAllen Convention Center. It will feature 10,000 square feet of meeting space.