Houston First has narrowed the field of candidates vying to build a new 1,000-room convention center hotel down to two.
Rida Development and TRT Holdings/Omni Hotel were chosen out of 11 groups that originally responded to a request for proposals, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Rida Development is a Houston-based developer that's built major hotels and other projects in Texas, Florida and eastern Europe. TRT Holdings is a Irving-based holding company whose assets include Omni Hotels & Resorts.
The two companies had "the best overall proposals that included the strongest financing capabilities," Peter McStravick, Houston First's chief operating officer for hotel operations told the Chronicle.
A winner could be chosen by the end of the month. The selection would then go to Houston First's board for approval. If all goes as planned, a ground breaking could happen in fall 2013.
Houston First has an option to purchase a 6.7-acre tract adjacent to the northern end of the convention center, and across Discovery Green from the Hilton Americas-Houston, where the new project is proposed.