Ophelia Hotel breaks ground Aug. 23
A rendering of the Ophelia Hotel and Conference Center. Screen-captured image
A groundbreaking ceremony for the Ophelia Hotel and Conference Center in Marble Falls is at 10 a.m. Aug. 23 at a site near Lakeside Park, 305 Buena Vista Drive. The project has been in the works for 10 years and could be completed as early as late 2025 if the current construction schedule holds.
Marble Falls Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Christian Fletcher announced the groundbreaking during a luncheon at the Marble Falls/Highland Lakes Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
“You guys are all invited; we’d love to have you,” Fletcher told attendees. “This has been kind of a labor of love. There’s been a lot of stops and starts, and there was a pandemic in the middle of that.”
The Marble Falls EDC purchased land in 2014 with the goal of building a boutique hotel and conference center to bolster the city’s downtown economy.
“Currently we have limited service hotels within the city limits,” Fletcher said. “We felt like downtown Marble Falls deserved something that was more unique and completely custom, not cookie-cutter.”
The Ophelia is named after Ophelia “Birdie” Harwood, the first woman mayor of Marble Falls, who was also the first woman mayor in Texas. She was elected before women had the right to vote.
The hotel and conference center will feature 127 guest rooms, a 9,000-square-foot ballroom and meeting space, and a signature restaurant/bar/cafe.
“One of the key points in situating the hotel where it is is that people can walk out of the front door and turn left to rent a paddleboard and get on the lake or turn right and walk downtown,” Fletcher said.
The Ophelia is a Tapestry Collection by Hilton project, meaning it is an independent, unique hotel under the hospitality titan’s brand. The hotel-conference center combo and the land beneath it are owned by Marble Falls Hotel Group, a partnership between Phoenix Hospitality Group and Castle Hospitality.
The Marble Falls EDC contributed roughly $7.6 million in incentives to bring The Ophelia to the city, including the around $2.5 million property. The long-awaited venue is expected to have an estimated $200 million economic impact on Marble Falls in the 10 years following its completion.
The EDC is funded by a half-cent sales tax in the city limits that Marble Falls residents voted to establish in 1991. Its funds can only be used to retain, expand, and attract businesses and industry to the city and foster the retention, creation, and reinvestment of wealth in the Marble Falls community.