Tensions were high Tuesday as Manhattan city commissioners unanimously voted to let a developer change the Midtown project from an office building to a hotel with a parking garage in Aggieville.
The amendment to a previously approved agreement allows Back 9 Development and owner TJ Vilkanskas to build a 105-room hotel and 100-stall parking garage on the Midtown site, formerly a parking lot south of Kite’s Bar and Grill and currently an empty mud pit. Commissioners also authorized issuing $20 million in industrial revenue bonds for the project as well as project deadlines and potential penalties.
Vilkanskas previously proposed a mixed-use building with primarily office space on the Midtown site at the northwest corner of 12th and Laramie streets with a hotel and parking garage across the street on the northeast corner. The project stalled in March 2023 after a major investor withdrew.
