Peachtree Starts a 480-Room Dual-Brand Downtown
Peachtree Group has begun construction on a 480-room dual-branded Embassy Suites by Hilton and Tempo by Hilton at Fifth and Lavaca in downtown Austin. The 30-storey building is due to open in early 2029.
Peachtree and Merritt Development Group are co-developing the project. DPR Construction is the general contractor. DLR Group is the architect and interior designer.
What the Building Adds to Daytime Inventory
The announcement lists an approximately two-storey signature lifestyle restaurant, a rooftop bar and lounge with downtown views, an Embassy Suites restaurant and bar, a Tempo cafe, meeting and event space and a fitness center.
A day-use operator prices those spaces by the hour and by the day. The release publishes no square footage for the restaurant, the rooftop venue or the meeting space.
The building sits inside roughly 14 million square feet of Class A office space, near the Texas State Capitol, the University of Texas at Austin, Sixth Street and the Red River Cultural District.
The Two Inventory Lines
Embassy Suites brings a full-service, all-suite format. Tempo by Hilton is the chain's lifestyle brand. Peachtree states the dual-brand structure serves different guest segments and lets the two hotels share amenities and operating infrastructure.
The announcement publishes no room allocation between the brands and no floor split. That allocation sets the suite inventory against the standard inventory, and it is the first item to request from the developer.
Convention and Airport Demand
The Austin Convention Center is closed for its redevelopment. Its own project pages put the cost at $1.6 billion, funded by hotel occupancy tax, convention center revenue and the state Project Financing Zone, with no call on property tax.
Rentable space grows from 365,000 square feet to 620,000 square feet, of which 550,000 is interior and 70,000 outdoor. Completion is expected in late 2028, with a reopening planned for the 2029 spring festival season.
The venue states it turned away nearly 50% of the business leads it received for want of space and availability. It projects the completed building adds $285 million a year in economic impact, $13 million a year in city tax revenue and more than 1,600 jobs.
Peachtree also points to the multibillion-dollar expansion of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
The Stated Case
"Austin continues to distinguish itself as one of the country's most dynamic growth markets, and we believe this is an exceptional location for a development of this scale," said Greg Friedman, chief executive and managing principal of Peachtree Group. "Bringing Embassy Suites and Tempo together allows us to serve a broad range of business, group and leisure travelers."
David Merritt, president and owner of Merritt Development Group, cited the Fifth and Lavaca location and a repeat partnership with Peachtree.
Peachtree states the five-county Austin region holds about 2.6 million people. Opportunity Austin projects 3.23 million by 2035.
What the Announcement Leaves Out
No project cost, no capital structure, no management agreement, no restaurant operator, no meeting-space square footage and no day-use programme appear in the release.
A day-use operator weighing the 2029 opening asks for the meeting-room inventory and capacities, the rooftop capacity, the cafe hours and the fitness center terms first.