There's a new luxury hotel joining the blocks of downtown Austin. The W Hotel, which broke ground in May of 2008, opened the restaurant and bar earlier this month on December 9th. The hotel is the first new large downtown hotel since 2003. The development includes condos, office and retail space, and the new studios for the "Austin City Limits" show. The project was completed on schedule despite the national economic downturn, proving Austin's economic resilience compared to other cities.

Blog inspired by article written by Shonda Novak featured in The Austin American Statesman and can be seen here: http://www.statesman.com/business/w-austin-hotel-opens-in-300-million-downtown-1110711.html