Champagne was poured Friday on the beam that now sits at the top of the under-construction Fairmont Austin, a 37-story luxury downtown hotel that opens Aug. 9.
A "topping out" ceremony for the hotel, located across from the Austin Convention Center at 101 Red River St., Austin, was held Friday, complete with fanfare, a marching band, tours of the under-construction hotel and speeches from the project team and Austin Mayor Steve Adler.
"[The Fairmont Austin] is going to change the silhouette; it's going to change our skyline," Adler said Friday.
The hotel is expected to generate more than 1,000 permanent jobs.
"The Fairmont is going to be a part of what people see when they see Austin," Adler said. "This hotel has become a part of who we are."
The Fairmont Austin is a $370 million project that will have 1,048 rooms.[/caption]The $370 million hotel will be the second-tallest building in Austin—after the Austonian residences—and the city's largest hotel, with 1,048 rooms, two ballrooms, a 565-space parking deck, a 21,000-square-foot outdoor deck and several restaurants.
Developer Manchester Texas Financial Group broke ground on the hotel in late 2014, and the hotel's 1,048 rooms will be available for reservations starting in January, according to the Fairmont's website.
The hotel—designed by Gensler Austin—will also feature the 33-foot elevated “canopy walk” connecting the hotel with the convention center. The $6 million project will be constructed by mid-May, according to a news release.
