South Congress to get another boutique hotel

The South Congress boutique hotel boomlet is showing no signs of letting up. The most recently announced proposed hospitality experience will be a three-story building behind Güero’s Taco Bar, the Austin American-Statesman reported Wednesday.

The owners of the South Congress Tex-Mex mainstay—Rob Lippincott, his wife, and his daughters—own the site where the proposed hotel will be built, according to the Statesman; it’s the former location of a Vulcan Video and Eco-Wise, which were razed earlier this year.

Kimber Cavendish, who developed the Kimber Modern hotel behind the Continental Club, across and down the street from Güero’s, is set to develop the Kimber Modern SoCo, as the proposed lodgings are being called, according to the story.

The newspaper also reported that the hotel will have 34 rooms, 68 underground parking spaces, and retail and event space.

Cavendish’s distinctive Kimber Modern is art-focused and features rotating displays of local artists’ work. She told the Statesman that she is working on a “unique design concept” for the project and that the mix of that and the “Keep Austin Weird” vibe on the street would be a “big draw.”

Maker Architects, which has been involved with the South Congress Hotel and the contemporary, multiuse complex next to Guero’s, will design the proposed hotel, and developers are seeking fast-track approval through the city process, the paper reported.

Some residents of the adjacent Bouldin Creek neighborhood expressed concern about increased traffic from the project, according to the Statesman, but some acknowledged the inevitable change and hoped for the best.

• New boutique hotel planned behind Guero’s in SoCo neighborhood [AAS]