Texas W Hotel Reopens Following Glass Replacement

The W Hotel in Austin, TX, reopened Saturday after a two week closure because of falling glass. Several panes of glass fell from the building in late June onto downtown streets and sidewalks injuring at least four people. The hotel restaurant and bar opened first around noon for lunch followed by the hotel guest rooms.
 

Crews removed every glass panel from the 37 story building and replaced them with temporary pieces of wood. The city of Austin inspected the temporary replacements and gave the W Austin Hotel a green light to reopen. A third party engineering firm also inspected the site for safety.

"We express our sincere gratitude to the community for your patience and understanding over the last week," said Drew McQuade, General Manager of the W Austin Hotel. “We also thank our local hotel partners for graciously accepting our guests; and our residents, neighbors and the City of Austin for their cooperation during this difficult time”

The hotel faces at least one injury lawsuit involving one of the reported incidents. The cause of the glass breakage is still under investigation.