Texas State University System Board of Regents approve hotel on San Marcos campus

On Nov. 20, the Texas State University System Board of Regents voted to authorize Texas State University to enter into a development agreement with Midway—private Houston-based developer—to build a hotel on its San Marcos campus.

The details

The agreement is the next step for a $70 million hotel, with 130 guest rooms. The project, located on just over three acres at 429 and 403 N. Guadalupe St., San Marcos—just south of Tower Hall and across from Target—will also include a full-service restaurant and bar along with meeting and event space, according to a press release from Texas State University. There is an older home—the Richard A. Castro Undergraduate Admissions Center—that resides on the 3.88-acre property, which will be removed, Algoe told Community Impact.

“San Marcos is long overdue for a true, full-service, top-of-the-line hotel and restaurant in the heart of downtown,” said Eric Algoe, executive vice president for operations and chief financial officer at TXST, said in the release. “We look forward to working with the city to continue to make San Marcos the best place to live, work and study in the country.”

Midway's lease of the university-owned land will last 75 years, with an option to extend, according to board documents. Income from the lease will be used to support instruction and fund scholarships, according to the documents.

The background

Texas State officials announced plans for the hotel on the campus in August 2024. The following year, the City of San Marcos approved an economic development incentive package to support the hotel.

Texas State officials initially said they hoped the project would begin in 2025; however, an updated timeline was not provided, and no paperwork has been filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.