The DoubleTree by Hilton near the University of Texas is still marked for a major makeover into a pair of high-rise towers along the I-35 service road, but for now, it is all plans and no jackhammers. The property scored a new zoning that allows significantly taller buildings in a stretch of town that has been steadily upzoned, so neighbors and campus watchers are keeping a close eye on what happens next.
What is planned at the hotel parcel
Pinnacle Hotels USA owns the DoubleTree site and lists the 149-room hotel at 1617 I-35 North on its portfolio page. The company has floated a project called Pinnacle Plaza that would take down the low-slung hotel, the surface parking, and a small meeting building, replacing them with mixed-use towers that would combine hotel rooms with residential units, according to developer materials and reporting. The Real Deal has reported that the site is about three acres, with roughly 65,000 square feet of paved parking and a 3,000 square foot meeting space.
Rezoning that opened the door
City records for zoning case C14-2023-0129 show that the land was reclassified to a commercial highway planned development area, or CH-PDA-NP, which wiped out older limits on building height and lot coverage. The change allows a maximum floor-to-area ratio of 8 to 1 and a maximum height of 280 feet, roughly the room for a 25-story building, and permits up to 95 percent lot coverage, according to the City of Austin zoning review packet. The packet from the City of Austin lays out the standards the developer requested and the conditions that will govern any future site plan.
Why construction has not started
Even with those entitlements in hand, the project has not moved into construction and “has been slow to advance,” according to reporting by the Austin Business Journal. That outlet reports that the two-tower concept is still part of Pinnacle’s plans, but there has been no clear move yet to demolish the existing hotel or file major construction permits.
What needs to happen next
Before any new towers can rise, the developer has to submit formal site plans and secure a series of city approvals, from transportation and water service coordination to decisions on how parkland dedication is handled, according to the city’s zoning packet. The zoning file also highlights potential Capitol View Corridor height checks and coordination with TxDOT tied to the tract’s position along the I-35 service road, both of which will influence timing once Pinnacle brings in detailed plans. The procedural hurdles are spelled out in a review sheet from the City of Austin.
How the parcel fits into a changing corridor
The DoubleTree lot sits between Oakwood Cemetery and the UT campus, just south of the Moody Center and the Frank Erwin Special Events Center, in a slice of the city that has drawn multiple redevelopment pitches in recent years. Coverage of nearby efforts, including a plan to remake a Denny’s site and other I-35 upzoning moves, shows that Pinnacle’s land is part of a broader push for denser housing and more hotel rooms close to campus. Early rezoning momentum was detailed in 2024 coverage from The Real Deal.
Two years after the Austin City Council signed off on the rezoning on April 18, 2024, the twin towers are still a set of entitlements on paper rather than a construction site. The key signals to watch now are whether Pinnacle files a full site plan or submits demolition and building permits that would turn those development rights into a real-world schedule. For the moment, the DoubleTree remains open, and the quiet lot continues to serve as a test case for how quickly big projects will actually move along this stretch of I-35.
