Waco’s hotel industry making a comeback as area faces Big 12 uncertainty

Now awash in tourists, Waco has become a destination of choice. Count Magnolia Market and a revitalized downtown are among the draws. Hotel developers came calling, so many that Waco declared a moratorium on granting Tax Increment Financing funds to new lodging proposals.

Now what?

“That’s the half-billion-dollar question, or should I say $350 million?” said Jacquelyn Baumann, vice president of sales and strategic planning at KB Hotels. The Temple-based company led by Kiran “Kenny” Bhakta placed Hotel Indigo in Waco and has three other properties under development: the Even and Cambria hotels going up near Elm Avenue in East Waco and an Element Hotel by Westin on the traffic circle.

The numbers Baumann dropped represent her calculation of new hotel construction in Greater Waco, both existing and proposed.

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