Neway Nears Start of Hotel highrise in Downtown Houston

Neway Hospitality is bringing a dual-brand hotel to downtown Houston, and it will have a small grocery store.

The Sugar Land-based firm aims to start construction on a 17-story Holiday Inn Express/Staybridge Suites near Minute Maid Park by the end of the month, the Houston Chronicle reported. The 275-key hotel, slated to open in 2025, will replace the 20,000-square-foot parking lot at 1319 Texas Avenue.

A 3,000-square-foot Urban Street Market grocery store is planned for the ground floor.

“Our main reason for building this hotel is the location based near Minute Maid Park and the George R. Brown Convention Center,” Neway president Ali Momin told the outlet. Some amenities “will be grander than what you would see in our typical Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites in and around suburbs,” he said.

The Holiday Inn portion will contain 144 rooms along Texas Avenue, and the Staybridge side on Austin Street will have 131 extended stay rooms. Both brands are owned by IHG Hotels and Resorts.

While room rates have not been disclosed, a hotel in downtown Houston typically costs between $145 and $262 per night, according to Momondo.

The shared lobby and amenities, located on the fifth floor above four levels of parking, will include a bar area, fitness center, meeting room and outdoor pool.

Neway has secured a $53 million construction loan from Arizona-based Arriba Capital, a big win for Neway given the tight lending climate surrounding commercial deals.

“Houston is definitely on the upswing,” Arriba principal Ryan Bosch told the outlet. “Only the best projects are getting financing and moving forward. We felt there was a big need for select service and extended stay hotels.”

There are 17 hotels under construction in the Houston area, totalling 2,100 rooms. That ranks 15th in the nation for construction by room count, the outlet reported, citing data from CoStar.

The average hotel occupancy rate occupancy rate in the Houston area was 62 percent through July, marking a 5 percent increase year-over-year.

—Quinn Donoghue