(Seguin) — A massive project is still in the works for downtown Seguin. The city’s development partner says the Nolte Hotel project continues to make progress. It was approximately 11 months ago that the city named GroundFloor Development as its development partner for the project that would completely revamp an entire city block, including the building that previously housed Wells Fargo Bank in downtown Seguin.
Matt Holley and Peter French of GroundFloor attended Tuesday’s meeting of the Seguin City Council and provided an update on the project, which will include a hotel, restaurants, bars, and flexible meeting and convention spaces. Holley says the project will be a major attraction in downtown Seguin. He says it will bring in local residents as well as people who are visiting the community.
“It’s a full city block on the south side of the park, right? And that city block allows us to build about 148,000 square foot building. Its primary asset is the hotel, but this is much more than just a hotel. It’s really part of the overall concept that we’re delivering. In addition to the hotel, we’ve got retail, we’ve got meeting spaces and restaurants that are both serving the hotel itself as well as the community-at-large, and other amenities like bars. We’ve got a couple of bars envisioned at ground level as well as on an upper level where you kind of overlook the park. So, we think it’s going to be a lovely addition to the community, said Holley.
Holley says they carefully considered the community’s input when they started creating the concept for the project. He says they wanted it to be unique to Seguin and special to the community.
“We didn’t take a cookie cutter hotel, pick a brand. We didn’t find one and just sort of dropped it on the site. This has been a much more intentional process. As I said, starting with the materials you all provided to us, it certainly informed us how we viewed this. And we feel that we’ve been given an important responsibility to this community. Obviously, what we’ve heard tonight is that people are passionate about where they live and this home that they have here in Seguin. It’s a lovely place. And we feel it’s really important that we take as much from the broader community and input of the stakeholders as well as trying to make this work financially and all the elements that have to (included), and also bring something that you’re proud of that’s going to survive for many years and be both an attraction for people coming to the city as well as being an amenity for residents of the city,” said Holley.
The idea behind the Nolte Hotel is much more than just a place for overnight guests or a place to have a meal. Holley says it will do all those things and a lot more.
“We view this as a hub, and we think it’s going to end up being a entertainment hub on the south side of the park. It will draw a lot of traffic to that end of downtown. But another important part as we’ve thought through how to develop this, is given the important element that’s there is a historic building, two of them, and we feel really — our team kind of at heart are preservationists. We love taking buildings and there’s some great examples around Texas of how developers have taken old, important buildings and integrated that into the development. In San Antonio, the (Hotel) Emma in the Pearl District is a great example of that. So, we feel like that’s a really important element and we’re going to, we kind of want to honor that,” said Holley.
Holley says the concept is already getting buy-in from some major players in the hotel industry. He says they hosted officials from both Hilton and Marriott. Those companies didn’t know much about Seguin’s story at the time, but after the visit, they both saw the potential for the hotel project.
“They both felt that one of their upscale boutique brands would in fact work here. And they issued letters of intent back in February supporting that. So, we have great brands to work with. We’ll kind of work through the process in the coming months. That will certainly impact the design. It’ll impact our overall plan, the financials, and so forth,” said Holley.
With those major brands showing interest in the project, it helps secure what’s needed to get the project off the ground and allows GroundFloor to move toward the official design phase. Holley says there are still some questions that have to be answered about what’s included in the property, but he says they have assembled a solid team that is developing the right features for the project.
“But the other elements of the development include spaces for different kinds of events. And from working up to this point with the various stakeholders, we know there’s a need for event space, whether it be weddings or corporate events. So, we’ve allocated about 14,000 square feet of the overall site to be programmed for different event space. We’re going to figure out what the best makeup of that is, but as an example, we’re considering maybe a 3,500 square foot ballroom, which can be used obviously for receptions, for different kinds of events across the board. Corporate events would use that, but (also feature) breakout rooms. What this rendering shows is a concept that we have for a Grand Salon, so to speak, that faces an interior courtyard that we’re looking at designing that would be used for weddings. It would be a great wedding venue, but it could be used for a variety of things. So, we’ve got a lot of work to do on this to get the programming exactly right. That’s a big part of what we’ll be kind of working through with our team,” said Holley.
The Nolte Hotel will cater to both its guests and the community. Holley says they’ll do that by offering easy access to everything the property has to offer. He says this will also give them a chance to preserve some of the historic aspects of the existing building.
“From the interior lobby, you’ll have an access to the restaurant, which will be a component of the plan, but also will have an entrance from the outside. So, people from around the community that want to enter but don’t necessarily want to enter through the hotel, will have an entrance through the historic entrance of that building,” said Holley.
GroundFloor officials say they have put together a team of experts who are making sure this project is done right to maximize its success. That includes their work on the dining options that will be available at the property.
“We’re really excited about our food and beverage partner SEMI Studios that has done a variety of very unique brands and projects around the state and beyond. They’re going to be working with us through every detail of this. We’re going to have an upscale restaurant. We originally thought about doing a steakhouse. That may not be the case. We understand Park Plaza may do a steakhouse there. So, we’re not trying to compete with other things in downtown. We want to add value and basically be another draw for downtown. So, as we go through the process, we’ll be evaluating the best type of restaurant to put on the main level of the hotel. It’ll have obviously all the, you know, the room service offerings as well as catering to the various meeting spaces. We also have, as I mentioned, various bars in the hotel itself,” said Holley.
The city has seen another historic downtown property converted into a hotel and ultimately fail. Holley says that’s why they are taking the necessary steps to plan this development in a way that not only gives Seguin something special and new in its downtown, but also something that can be sustainable for years to come.
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“At the end of the day, the city is concerned about a whole range of issues, right? You’re creating a cultural hub, an entertainment hub, which is part of that, but you also want to make money for the city. And we know from the preliminary analysis that we’ve done that this is going to be an engine, basically bringing quite a lot of, in terms of economic impact to downtown. Our estimates are approaching $17 million annually from this project. It will bring jobs. Basically, our analysis to this point is showing 150 (new) jobs for this hotel and what’s involved in the overall development. And of course, there’s a ripple effect. It will create other jobs in the community by virtue of what we’re developing here,” said Holley.
It’s taken some time to get to this point, but GroundFloor officials say the project continues to move forward. French told council members that they are putting together a development that will create a destination in downtown Seguin that the entire community can enjoy.
“We believe that it speaks to what we’re all trying collectively to accomplish here, and that is Seguin deserves great things. And so, we applaud your vision on putting this plan together, on setting forth the team to assist us in delivering something great for you that’s transformative for Seguin, that reflects the past and historic buildings and the future and what you want it to be,” said French.
The Nolte Hotel project represents a $26.5 million investment in downtown Seguin. It will include a boutique hotel with 100 upscale suites and rooms designed for both business and leisure travelers. The other features on the property are being designed to serve residents and visitors.
GroundFloor officials revealed their 36-month timeline for the project. They are expected to complete the initial design phase in the third quarter of this year, with plans to then seek approval from the city council on those designs. Once the construction plans are complete, the permitting process would begin in the third quarter of 2027, with construction set to begin in the fourth quarter of next year. The grand opening for Seguin’s Nolte Hotel is slated for the third quarter of 2029.