Construction will soon begin on a new 303-room hotel on The Woodlands Waterway. On Feb. 13 The Woodlands Development Company and the Howard Hughes Corporation announced plans for the hotel, which will be on the north side of the Waterway, just east of the 24 Waterway building.

"There is a tremendous need for additional first class hotel rooms in The Woodlands with over 20 million people visiting The Woodlands Town Center each year," said Paul Layne, executive vice president of master-planned communities for The Howard Hughes Corporation. "A hotel of this caliber will attract both business and leisure travelers into the heart of The Waterway Square District within walking distance of hundreds of businesses, shops and restaurants as well as major entertainment venues, such as The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion."

The Development Company did not announce the hotel's brand, but it said the hotel would be designed for business travelers and local residents seeking local vacation spots. Plans for the hotel also include a long-planned pedestrian bridge spanning the Waterway and the addition of a performance stage at Waterway Square.

The hotel will also feature 24,000 square feet of meeting event space, a fine dining restaurant, and second level pool deck and bar with direct access to the fountains at Waterway Square.

Construction on the hotel is expected to be complete mid-2015.

Included in the plans for the hotel is a pedestrian bridge spanning over the Waterway as well as a permanent performance stage near the Waterway Square fountains. The bridge and the stage are being paid for at a cost of $1.2 million by The Woodlands Township, township President Don Norrell said.

The bridge and the stage will be constructed in conjunction with the hotel and will open at about the same time, Norrell said.

The Waterway hotel would be the 20th hotel in The Woodlands and Shenandoah areas, with more on the way. In January, the 184-room Hyatt Place hotel opened at Grogan's Mill Road and Research Forest Drive. Another Woodlands hotel, to be located in the Hughes Landing development, will have 175 rooms.

"Certainly, the strong economy in The Woodlands is attracting residents and visitors to the area and therefore there is a greater need for hotels," said Gordy Bunch, chairman of The Woodlands CVB. "Hotels in The Woodlands are driving some of the best occupancy in the country. The demand for travel to The Woodlands for business, entertainment and leisure is some of the best in the country, as well."

In 2012, The Woodlands earned more than $6 million in hotel tax revenue, while Shenandoah earned $713,811.

The Waterway hotel is the latest planned project to be announced by the Development Company in the Waterway Square district. In September 2012, the Development Company announced plans for 10 Waterway, to be located directly across the Waterway from the new hotel.

The Development Company is seeking tenants for the office, but a construction time frame has not been announced. Plans are also in the works, although the project has not been formally announced, for a 40-story condominium to be adjacent to the Waterway Square parking garage.