Abilene's downtown hotel hitting goals for 'substantial completion' in April
Brian Bethel, Abilene Reporter-News
5 min read
An April opening of a downtown Abilene hotel feels practically around the corner, City Manager Robert Hanna says.
The seven-story hotel is on track to have its "substantial completion date" April 7, with its contractor confident it will hit that milestone, he said.
Groundbreaking was in October.
"If they don't (hit that date), we have some coverage in the financial model," he said.
The 200-room, 170,000-square-foot DoubleTree by Hilton, located within the city's downtown arts and business district, will feature full-service dining, pool deck, rooftop bar and other amenities.
Hanna encouraged those who hadn't made the trip downtown in a while to come look at the facility's progress.
"If they come out and see it, they'll recognize (that) this is really happening," he said.
Hilton officials recently visited the site and were impressed with the level of progress on display, Hanna said.
"In fact, they're going to have to speed up their own internal timelines because the contractor is moving faster than they thought they'd be," he said. "We're putting glass up on the exterior right now."
"Substantial completion" is defined as the hotel having a certificate of occupancy, Hanna said.
While that means rooms in the building will be ready for occupancy, there likely will be, as in any building project, work yet to do, he said, akin to marking a new house hither and yon with blue tape.
"You've moved in, you've taken possession of it, but the builder says, 'Yeah, we'll touch up that paint,' or 'Yeah, we'll set that mirror right here,'" he said.
Guests already are eager to check in, Hanna said.
"They've already gotten some commitments on conventions that are in the process of signing," he said. "So, I won't make any announcements at this point in time. But they've got some opportunity and some room night sales that are taking place. The hotel, the conference portion of it and the Convention Center, we're going to get it occupied."
Costs of doing business
Right now, the primary issues the project faces are those plaguing most construction projects, Hanna said.
For example, the cost of roofing materials has become a concern, both because of supply chain issues and inflation, which may result in design changes.
"I think the reality of what we're facing globally with the supply chain and just the inflationary costs, there will be a price increase," he said. "I do not expect it to be tremendous. And I do not expect it to require any further issuance of debt."
The current economic realities are a little frustrating, Hanna said.
"But it is the world we live in right now," he said.
A plan comes together
Other connected parts of the project are continuing apace, Hanna said.
Construction on the north side of the Abilene Convention Center is nearing completion, he said. Visitors' entrance has been rerouted since December.
The city is working with architect Tim Rice McClarty and an employee/surviving spouse group about a memorial honoring police officers, firefighters and employees who have died, he said.
"There's going to be kind of a memorial plaza section of this," he said. "We've got money set aside for that, as well."
The city plans to talk with the Abilene City Council soon, he said, about management concepts for the Convention Center.
That will involve "moving forward with third-party folks" to help bring in different shows and opportunities, Hanna said, and to raise the Convention Center's standards of service.
Designs for the the Festival District portion of the project are being finalized, along with its cost parameters.
"(There is) a budget amount they know not to exceed,' Hanna said. "I think we're still going to be working within our cost constraints for that."
Those conversations will happen this summer, Hanna said.
The district will be one of the last things done, he said, since the area it will be is being used as a staging yard for the hotel, he said.
Officials line up for a ground-breaking for the DoubleTree by Hilton downtown hotel Oct. 15, 2021. The ceremony was the culmination of a years-long effort by the city of Abilene, one of the larger pieces in its effort to revitalize downtown.
More changes coming
Hanna said he feels the hotel will continue, as it already has been, to be a catalyst for downtown development.
"I met with a group just yesterday who were talking about how they can leverage the hotel for cultural and quality of life (goals)," he said. "Not buildings, but just events — downtown, outside events."
As downtown's landscape has changed, so has the mix of people seen there at any given point, Hanna said.
Gone are days when streets were increasingly bare after 5 p.m., with the exception of diners eating at Cypress Street Station, which was the sole restaurant, or perhaps attending an event at the Paramount Theatre.
These days, downtown is a place more and more people seek recreation, he said.
"None of that, I think, would have been possible without the hotel, the promise of the hotel," he said. "And the important thing for us is to realize that we're not done."
The hotel is one, very important component on the city's journey toward growth, he said.
"We're not at the destination yet and probably never will be," he said.
The journey continues
A rendering of the downtown hotel project.
The next set of goals for downtown include making it a more pedestrian-friendly environment, Hanna said.
"Fix your sidewalks, create an environment where pedestrians feel safe, vehicle traffic is slowed down — not in all areas, just on certain corridors — so that you can create that environment for retail and commerce," he said.
Conversations continue with the business community and others, he said, including "trusted third-party consultants."
"I think that will all bear fruit in due time," he said. "It's exciting to see it all come together."
Looking at new businesses and developments, "I think the hotel has already had a tremendous impact economically," Hanna said.
"It's going to continue to do that," he said. "I think in five years, you're going to recognize our downtown, but it's going to be different. In 10 years, you may not recognize it."
Brian Bethel covers city and county government and general news for the Abilene Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.
