Shenandoah will have a total of 10 hotels by the end of the 2017 with the addition of the first Even Hotel in Texas at 18850 David Memorial Drive.

The land on which the Even Hotel will be built was originally planned to be a Four Points Sheraton. However, the company was unable to complete the Sheraton in the timeframe allotted by the special use permit. As a result, the company asked the city for a permit extension and agreed to build an Even Hotel in place of a Four Points Sheraton. The Shenandoah City Council approved the request during its May 25 meeting.

“The [Even] brand is geared more towards the fitness travelers,” Shenandoah City Administrator Greg Smith said. “So each room has some minor workout equipment, a balance ball, cork flooring and some resistance band training. They want people to be able to do any light fitness activities in their room whether it’s yoga, stretching or whatever the guests choose to do.”

In addition to in-room fitness options, the hotel will also include a 12,000-square-foot fitness center, which is significantly larger than standard hotels with a similar room count, Smith said.

The wellness-focused hotel will also offer healthy options for guests at its dining facility.

“It will be a very new concept in the area and we’re very excited about the hotel,” Smith said. “I think that it’s a very new, up-and-coming brand and it seems to have a very specific target [audience] that I don’t believe is being served in this area.”

The five-story hotel will have a total of 150 rooms available with king or queen beds, totaling 79,124 square feet.

Even Hotels is a member of the Intercontinental Hotel Group and the Shenandoah location will be designed by TDCK Architects, Inc.

Construction on the project is set to begin Aug. 30, 2016 and the hotel is planned to open by Dec. 30, 2017.