A ground-breaking ceremony was held Thursday, July 31 for the highly anticipated new luxury hotel in The Woodlands.  

Officials representing Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and The Howard Hughes Corp. were in attendance to announce the official start of construction on The Westin, The Woodlands at Waterway Square due to be completed by the end of 2015.

Hotel highlights:

• 302 rooms
• 247,000 gross SF
• 13 Levels total
• 24,000 SF of meeting rooms/ballroom space
• Lower Level: Housekeeping/Laundry/Security, Ballrooms, Meeting Rooms, Kitchen
• Level 1: Retail, Haven "Grab–N-Go", Restaurant, Wine Room, Private Dining, Lobby Bar, Kitchen Service Counter
• Level 2: Fitness, Pool, Pool Deck/Lounge, Bar, Guestrooms
• Levels 3-12: Guestrooms

Construction is performed by JE Dunn Construction, a member of multiple AGC chapters, located in Houston since 1982 with over 60 hotels in its portfolio. 

Photo from left to right: Peter Doyle, Howard Hughes Corp; Coy McKinney, Howard Hughes Corp.; Eric Rabel, Howard Hughes Corp.; Mitch Gruberg, Howard Hughes Corp.; Charlie Holliday, JE Dunn Construction; Jason LeBlanc, JE Dunn Construction; Jessie Palacios, Gensler; Jerry Basconi, Thompson Company, Inc.

JE Dunn Construction Company is family and employee owned and has been a leader in the commercial construction industry since 1924. JE Dunn has 20 offices nationally, employs over 2,500 people and is among the top contractors nationwide in several specialty areas.