The Marble Falls Economic Development Corp. Board of Directors approved $78,000 in community leverage grant funding for the Marble Falls Downtown District during its regular meeting Wednesday, Sept. 7.

The recently approved application will help fund several projects in the city, including railing for downtown, the purchase of decorations for the city’s annual Christmas celebration, a lease on a robotic field marker for the city’s Parks and Recreations Department, and engineering services for “three-phase power” for a planned pedestrian bridge over Backbone Creek and string lighting downtown.

Each year, the Marble Falls EDC allocates $100,000 to different community leverage grant applicants for projects that enhance quality of life for residents and improve the well-being of the city.

Past projects include funding to support the hike-and-bike trail system, the soccer field expansion, an art project, and the College to Careers workforce development initiative.

Each item included within the application was discussed in detail during the meeting, starting with the addition of 400 feet of railing at nine downtown locations. Downtown District Manager Erin Burks spoke to the EDC board about the driving force behind the railing’s inclusion.

“It’s nine different projects,” she said. “They’re all addressing safety issues within the district.”

The EDC will contribute $28,000 to the project.

An additional $10,000 will be allocated for a lease on a field-marking robot for the Parks and Recreation Department. Currently, parks employees hand paint lines for recreational leagues such as youth soccer, softball, and flag football.

“Really, where we’re saving is man-hours,” said Recreational Director Lacey Dingman. “We can set this up, mow a field, set it up to stripe it, and be moving over to the next field while it’s striping right behind.”

Along with financing for the new railing, the grant also included an additional $20,000 for engineering services for string lighting across the Downtown District to increase evening visibility. The idea of string lighting has been kicked around internally by the city for some time, Burks said.

Another $15,500 of the grant was allocated for three-phase power engineering services for the Phase 1b pedestrian bridge over Backbone Creek. Three-phase brings more voltage capacity to the parks and will help with chillers at the annual holiday ice rink and other projects.

“When we did (phase) 1a, PEC wanted us to do three-phase over the lake into Johnson Park,” said Assistant City Manager Caleb Kraenzel. “We told them we didn’t want a wire over the water and that we’d like to do it through another means. They agreed verbally that we could defer it to a future phase like the pedestrian bridge.”

The final $4,500 of the grant will be assigned to purchase seasonal decorations such as garland and snow machines for the city’s annual Christmas celebration in downtown.

IN OTHER BUSINESS

The EDC approved using Central Texas College’s Frank Fickett Center, 806 Steve Hawkins Parkway, as a new polling location for the mid-term elections Nov. 8. (See related story.)

nathan@thepicayune.com

Marble Falls Hotel Group announces the iconic name of its highly anticipated hotel and conference center project

MARBLE FALLS, Texas, May 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The wait is finally over. After much anticipation, Phoenix Hospitality Group announces that Downtown Marble Falls will soon be home to The Ophelia Hotel Marble Falls, A Tapestry Collection by Hilton Hotel. The hotel and conference center will break ground this summer with an expected opening in early 2024.

Situated on Lake Marble Falls, the new hotel will feature:

• 123 Guest Rooms
• Over 9,000 Square Feet of Ballroom & Meeting Space
• Signature Restaurant, Bar, & Café
• Rooftop Bar & Dining

The Ophelia Hotel Marble Falls is named after Ophelia “Birdie” Harwood, a legendary figure in Marble Falls. Ophelia was a trailblazer during her era. She became the first female mayor in the State of Texas, three years before women even had the right to vote. Needless to say, she left a lasting legacy.

The Ophelia Hotel will embody what Ophelia accomplished, blending tradition and elegance while exceeding expectations. As such, Ophelia’s name and story will be integrated throughout the hotel and include naming the restaurant “Birdie’s” and the rooftop bar “Doc Harwood’s,” named after her husband.

The affiliation with Hilton Hotels and, in particular the Tapestry Collection of unique boutique hotels, is a perfect fit for The Ophelia Hotel, highlighting its individualism and personality.

The project was set in motion in 2013 by the Marble Falls Economic Development Corporation. The groundbreaking comes after years of careful planning and patience by the Marble Falls EDC to find the right hotel development team for the downtown site. Boerne-based Phoenix Hospitality Group is the project’s lead developer and will be the hotel manager after opening. Hawkins Family Partners LP of Austin is the sole owner and co-developer of the hotel.

The project lending sponsor is Commercial National Bank of Brady. Bank President & CEO Clay Jones and Marble Falls Area President Tim Cardinal are the lead lenders for the construction loan and permanent financing.

Wurzel Builders, an Austin-based full-service general contractor and construction manager, is excited to be named as the general contractor for this project, with their extensive experience in the hospitality, healthcare, retail, industrial, office, and restaurant sectors, priding itself on completing on-time quality-centric projects since 1998. The company is led by president Barry Wurzel, with unparalleled commitment to client collaboration, reliability, integrity, and excellence.

For inquiries, contact:
Phoenix Hospitality Group
taylor@phg-tx.com
210-378-9675

Original Article: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/exciting-reveal-for-marble-fallss-new-hotel-project-301548397.html?tc=eml_cleartime

The lights that brighten the U.S. 281 bridge in Marble Falls might one day be able to change colors to celebrate holidays and special events.

The Marble Falls Economic Development Corp. authorized engineering services company Stantec to begin preliminary designs for lighting improvements on the bridge that would give the city the ability to change light colors. EDC directors approved spending up to $34,509 toward the design portion of the project during a special meeting Wednesday, Jan. 26.

“This is simply a design process so you can get an idea of what this would look like without committing to actual construction,” explained EDC Executive Director Christian Fletcher during the meeting.

Costs associated with the design phase will come out of the EDC’s recent sales tax revenue bond sale, which has $300,000 earmarked for lighting improvements along the bridge. The $34,509 will cover design development, construction documents, and administration.

During the design process, engineers will evaluate options such as switching out the existing lighting features, which currently only shine white light, or installing a completely new lighting system along the bridge, Fletcher said.

“In either case, (the Lower Colorado River Authority) has requested that the spotlights on the pillars on the bottom of the bridge stay white light,” he said. “They don’t want that to change.”

Board members authorized entering this phase of the project as a change order to an existing professional services agreement for the next steps of Lakeside Park Phase 1B improvements, which was approved by the board in September 2021.

Also during the meeting, EDC directors further discussed potential design options for the old power house structure located on the east side of Lake Marble Falls just below Chili’s.

brigid@thepicayune.com