New & Notable Developments in Austin

It’s all the buzz that Austin is the proud home of 44 restaurants that received stars or mentions in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide Texas. Meeting and event planners can tap into the excitement and must-try menus by reserving space for private dining or securing catering services. Learn how you can make Austin’s MICHELIN restaurants part of your event.

Explore three floors of 1970s-themed decor, then take in the rooftop views at The Flower Shop on Austin’s East Side. A garden, dining room and bar welcome guests on the first floor, with additional bars located on the second and third floors. Order Australian and American dishes for your meeting or event. A sample menu might include disco fries (with bacon, cheddar and chives), a traditional Aussie meat pie with beef filling, shrimp tacos and fried buttermilk chicken. A variety of spaces within The Flower Shop are also available for private events.

Courtesy of Chalmers. 

Find a welcoming atmosphere at Chalmers, which aims to blend Hill Country and Southwest Texas vibes. Order snacks, salads, tacos and sandwiches from the kitchen, or opt for fare from the on-site food trucks. Reservations are accepted for groups of 15 to 50 attendees. Arrange to use the covered front patio for up to 200 guests, or the backyard for 800. Need room for 1,000? Buy out the entire venue. Each area has a bar, TV screens and space for entertainment.

Attendees will have fun sampling and sharing Spanish fare at Kalimotxo. They’ll delight in individual bites like the mushroom-and-quail egg tosta or shareable tapas like fried calamari and tomato salad. Larger portions include full plates of Spanish chorizo, ham or cheese, and dinner servings of prawns, pork, Texas ribeye and more. Kalimotxo offers a spacious dining room, a semi-private dining room, and two patios for seated and standing events. A full buyout features seating for 60 inside and 60 outdoors.

Plan a cocktail party at The Betty, a chic downtown lounge. Handcrafted concoctions like the Aztec Mezcal Negroni, South Texas Sazerac and Cucumber Press are featured on the extensive drink menu. Other choices range from domestic beer and wine to premium tequila and zero-proof beverages. Planners can book indoor and patio areas of the 4,000-square-foot bar for private events.

For early-morning coffee, food truck lunches and brunches, or anytime cocktails, try the Cabana Club. Its indoor clubhouse features a full bar and stage, while an expansive patio surrounds the outdoor swimming pool dotted with bars and seating areas shaded by pergolas and umbrellas. The venue can accommodate private events for 20 to 600 guests.

Bring your event vision to life in downtown Austin at the multilevel Tiger Lilly, where Texas beer, wine and craft cocktails are on the menu. Event spaces include the first-floor bar with various seating areas, the ultra-private Green Room, and a beautifully furnished second-floor lounge with a DJ booth and full-service bar for up to 120 guests. While a full buyout accommodates up to 400 people, the cozy basement speakeasy is perfect for a group of 40.

The St. Elmo Brewing Co. opened a new taproom — St. Elmo Springdale. In addition to favorite brews, there’s also wine, cider and cocktails. Indoor and outdoor patio seating is available, and food trucks are parked at the site. Table reservations are accepted for 20 or more people. The full taproom accommodates 84 seated and 100 standing. Outdoor spaces include yard tents and covered patios that can host 16 to 120 people. 

The Malin. Courtesy of Giant Noise.

Check out PNC Hall, the newest event space at ACL Live at The Moody Theater. The 2,000-square-foot hall offers a modern design, flexible spaces and downtown views from impressively large windows. PNC Hall can accommodate up to 250 guests for meetings and receptions.

Appropriately named The Printhouse, the venue that was once the home of the Austin American-Statesman newspaper now welcomes bookings for private events. Whether it’s a live concert, seated dinner function, outdoor reception or corporate meeting, The Printhouse offers space for events of all sizes. The in-house team supports event planners from start to finish.

The Malin East Austin offers an attractive and convenient venue for meetings or events. A range of membership options are available, but private areas for up to 18 people can also be booked by nonmembers. Spaces include 10 private offices, 24 dedicated desks, four meeting rooms, 12 phone booths, two libraries and a kitchen. The open floor plan also features comfortable lounge areas and standing workstations.

Courtesy of the Austin Convention Center. 

Hosting conventions, meetings and conferences in Austin will change in a big way as demolition and construction temporarily closes the Austin Convention Center in spring 2025 for a $1.6 billion expansion and redevelopment project. The larger, more efficient facility is scheduled to open in 2029. While construction is in progress, Austin’s event coordinators and hospitality providers are prepared to offer alternative spaces to accommodate attendees. Learn about campus-style events in Austin. And get construction updates on the Austin Convention Center.

Green Pastures Hotel
811 Live Oak St.
The popular Mattie’s at Green Pastures restaurant and event venue gains a new Bouldin Creek neighbor in July 2025. La Corsha Hospitality Group is building a three-story, 63-room boutique hotel on 5.6 acres just south of the historic farmhouse property, which is recognized as a city, state and national landmark. The hotel will feature event space and a swimming pool. Interior and exterior improvements to Mattie’s are also planned.

1 Hotel Austin
98 Red River St.
In 2026, guests can begin booking stays in the 251-room 1 Hotel Austin at the confluence of Waller Creek and Lady Bird Lake. The luxury lifestyle hotel will be situated in the 74-story 98 Red River Towers, a mixed-use development that will also include retail space, offices and apartments. The property will connect to parks, bike trails and walking paths along Waller Creek.

Hotel Trinity
307 E. Fifth St.
Developer White Lodging broke ground in fall 2024 on the 13-story, 258-room hotel with luxury accommodations, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. The expected opening is mid-2026. The property will feature some 6,000 square feet of meeting space, in addition to a ground-floor restaurant. Private areas for guests include a rooftop pool, fitness center and sophisticated social club.

Element North Austin Tech Ridge
900 E. Parmer Ln.
In April 2025, North Austin will welcome a new Element hotel with 123 guest rooms. This contemporary Marriott property will offer long-term stays within the "Silicon Hills" area of Austin, near the city's Tech Ridge neighborhood that’s home to Dell, Samsung, Apple, IBM and others. Guests will enjoy free Wi-Fi, complimentary breakfast, a fitness center, outdoor pool and suites with kitchens.

Four Points by Sheraton Austin Airport
7800 E. Riverside Dr.
With its location near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, the 99-room hotel set to open in February 2025 is a convenient meeting and lodging option. Three meeting rooms offer a total of 2,052 square feet to accommodate theater-, conference-, classroom- and reception-style events. The hotel also features on-site food service and free Wi-Fi.

There’s a new look at W Austin, which completed its $40 million renovation in 2024. Visitors will notice upgraded guest rooms with hardwood floors, an impressive lobby and the new Serenade American Brasserie restaurant, 2nd & Roast coffee shop and Blue Room cocktail bar. The hotel features 12,000 square feet of meeting space. W Austin is conveniently connected to ACL Live at The Moody Theater and its new event space, the 2,000-square-foot PNC Hall. Together, ACL Live and W Austin can accommodate up to 2,000 attendees for receptions.

Downright Austin, formerly the Sheraton Hotel Austin, reopened in the spring of 2024 after a rebrand and renovation following its acquisition by Renaissance Hotels. The reimagined property features 367 guest rooms and 40,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space. Relax at the resort-style pool adjacent to the retro Swim Club restaurant and social spot. The hotel is just blocks from The University of Texas at Austin campus, the Texas State Capitol and the Moody Amphitheater.

W Austin. Credit Michael Kleinberge.

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Austin – University Area is moving forward with plans to build two 25-floor towers on the current DoubleTree property just north of downtown. This new design will feature a mix of hotel rooms and residential units, as well as decks. Plans are to keep the existing 149-room hotel operational for several years. Six meeting rooms can accommodate from 80 to 150 people.

The four-star AT&T Hotel and Conference Center is set to undergo a $30 million renovation beginning in spring 2025 to update its meeting space. The project will refresh the existing 85,000 square feet of space in 53 meeting rooms. New additions will include a junior ballroom and advanced audiovisual technology throughout the center, which is on The University of Texas at Austin campus.

Approaching its 10th anniversary in downtown Austin, the JW Marriott Austin is currently renovating and updating its meeting space and guest rooms. The $30 million transformation, expected to be complete in early 2025, aims to incorporate Austin's natural elements throughout the new space while maintaining the hotel's longstanding commitment to comfort, style and service. The 1,012-room hotel opened in 2015 and has 115,609 square feet of meeting space.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) continues to grow and set records. The airport’s busiest month on record was May 2024, with over two million passengers, thanks to increased flight service and ever-growing interest in Austin. And now, even more people will pass through the airport as domestic and international flight services are added by a number of airlines.

Credit to Tim Grifith.

Delta Air Lines: The introduction of new flights has made Delta the second-largest airline market share for Austin-Bergstrom. Nonstop service to Atlanta (ATL) started in October 2024, and a route to New Orleans (MSY) starts in February 2025. Coming in spring 2025 are flights to Memphis (MEM), Panama City, Florida (ECP), Tampa (TPA), San Francisco (SFO) and Indianapolis (IND). A Jacksonville, Florida (JAX) flight on Delta Connection partner Sky West will start in May 2025.

Frontier Airlines: Nonstop service to Atlanta (ATL) began in October 2024, and flights to Orlando (MCO), Chicago (ORD), Cincinnati (CVG) and Phoenix (PHX) are scheduled to start in March 2025.

British Airways: The airline is expanding to twice daily nonstop flights to London (LHR) beginning in spring 2025.

Southwest Airlines: Nonstop seasonal service to Reno-Tahoe (RNO), Panama City, Florida (ECP), Montrose (MTJ) and San Juan (SJU) begin in March 2025. Nonstop year-round service to Milwaukee (MKE) also starts in March.

Airport improvements: As travelers arrive at Austin-Bergstrom, they’ll notice that construction is underway to expand the airport. Work on the Barbara Jordan Terminal on the west end extends beyond current gates 33 and 34. The addition of 84,500 square feet over three levels will include 32,000 square feet at the concourse level, new passenger amenities, a new third-level mezzanine and apron-level airline support space. The project also includes replacing 12 gate-boarding bridges and creating three new gates to offset gate closures during future expansion projects. New features will include hold room seating areas serving five gates, three new gates, dining areas for new concessionaires, a children’s play area and a mezzanine with an outdoor balcony. Construction began in the summer of 2023 and is expected to be completed in spring 2026. Find more details here.

The Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin has achieved reaccreditation from the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the highest national recognition museums can receive. The Blanton is the only accredited art museum in Central Texas, and joins The Bullock Museum as the only other accredited museum in Austin. AAM’s Accreditation Commission commended the Blanton on stewarding a nationally notable art collection, while maintaining an exceptional focus on serving the academic community and engaging a broader Austin audience.

The longstanding Mexic-Arte Museum in downtown Austin will undergo a major renovation in future years. The museum is home to an extensive collection of Mexican, Latino/a and Latin American art, and is housed within a historic building dating back to 1869. Preliminary plans from March 2024 included a renovation of the current space to add a fourth floor, additional exhibit and administrative space, an accessible rooftop that can be used for events and outdoor public art, public meeting rooms and more.

Moody Center continues to win awards as a top venue for music, sports and more. In 2024, Moody Center was named Arena of the Year by Pollstar, a leading trade publication for the global concert industry. The arena was previously named Best New Concert Venue Worldwide after only 10 months in operation. The venue also played host to the CMT Music Awards in 2023 and 2024.

Q2 Stadium. Credit to Gensler.

Major League Soccer has selected Austin to host the 2025 MLS All-Star Game at Q2 Stadium. The event will be held in summer 2025 and will be broadcast across 100 countries and regions on MLS Season Pass. The All-Star Game will be Austin's first professional sports all-star game and the first MLS All-Star Game in Texas since 2010. The game is expected to draw fans from across the country to watch the MLS's biggest stars.

The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) returns to Circuit of The Americas on Sept. 5, 2025 for the fifth round of Lone Star Le Mans racing. The WEC season features eight rounds around the world, with Austin hosting the only round in North America. Up to three drivers will take turns racing each car during the fast-paced endurance challenge. Early bird general admission tickets are available now on the COTA website (children younger than 12 are admitted free with a paying adult). Weekend passes are also available to watch the action from Sept. 5-7, 2025.

The Texas Longhorns officially joined the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in July 2024. This move places UT in "the highest echelon of collegiate competition" and brings the university's stellar academic and sporting history to the conference.