The Woodlands Real Estate Blog

THE WOODLANDS, TX - A new luxury hotel in The Woodlands will soon break ground, providing much-needed rooms and meeting space for business travelers visiting the area. The Howard Hughes Corp. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Woodlands Development Co., will soon break ground on a 303-room, luxury hotel at Waterway Square overlooking The Woodlands Waterway.

The hotel, unofficially known as "Waterway Square Hotel,"" will also include 24,000 square feet of meeting and special event space, a fine dining restaurant and second level pool deck and bar. The Howard Hughes Corp. is in the process of finalizing negotiations with the brand name for the hotel.

The entire project is expected to be completed in mid-2015. The design architect is Elkus Manfredi Architects of Boston. Architect of record is Houston-based Gensler. A contractor has not been named.

""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 Corp. ""A hotel of this caliber will attract both business and leisure travelers into the heart of the Waterway Square District within walking distance to hundreds of businesses, shops and restaurants as well as major entertainment venues such as The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.""

Plans for the new hotel — designed for business travelers coming to The Woodlands Town Center and local residents seeking an ideal spot for a ""staycation"" — also includes a pedestrian bridge spanning The Waterway and the addition of a performance stage at Waterway Square.

The Woodlands Resort and Conference Center, also built by The Woodlands Development Co., is currently undergoing a $75 million renovation, adding 184 new rooms and a lazy river to be completed in the fall.