Government
BY ATIRIKTA KUMAR, HANNAH NORTON & NICHAELA SHAHEEN
Conroe Hyatt hotel valued at 83% loss
Special election set for Senate District 4 A special election will be held May 2 to ll Texas Senate District 4, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Oct. 16. The seat became vacant when former Sen. Brandon Creighton resigned from the legislature to lead the Texas Tech University System. Senate District 4 covers all of Chambers County, a large portion of Montgomery County and parts of Je erson, Harris and Galveston counties, serving a total popu- lation of 954,803 people at the time of the 2020 census. What you need to know Prospective candidates have until March 3 to le to appear on the special election ballot, per the governor’s proclamation. On Oct. 2, Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon resigned from his position to run for Senate District 4. Whoever wins the special election will serve the remainder of Creighton’s term, which runs until January 2027.
“We have clearly identi ed the problem, and I look forward to how we remedy this issue.” DUKE COON, CONROE MAYOR
The Hyatt Regency Conroe and Convention Center has an independent valuation placing the property’s current worth between $22 million and $24 million—a fraction of its original approximated $134 million cost, as shared during an Oct. 23 Conroe City Council meeting. Explained The hotel’s cash ow and performance have fallen well short of initial projections, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, the rm commissioned by the city to evaluate the property. If sold, JLL estimated, “the value is somewhere between $22 [million] and $24 million.” “In 2024, the occupancy was 42.8%. ... The original projection was ... a 70% occupancy,” the rm’s representative said, sharing that the hotel made a pro t of about $1.5 million this year. Diving in deeper City Administrator Gary Scott said the hotel has lost 83% of its original value and would require a “refresh” of about $15 million in 2028 for repaint- ing and new furniture, per its contract. Council members expressed frustration over the loss.
“This hotel has become the worst and most expensive nancial investment in Conroe’s history,” council member Harry Hardman said. Council members and sta reiterated that current leadership was not involved in approving or managing the project. “Councilman [Shana] Arthur and I ran for this o ce to uncover the truth, report the facts to the citizens and hold those responsible accountable,” council member David Hairel said. Hairel also said the city’s total indebtedness is $166 million when including bonds issued through the Conroe Industrial Development Corp. While no action was taken, Mayor Duke Coon said the council would work toward solutions. County allocates nearly $70M of road bond funds Montgomery County commissioners have allo- cated almost $70 million to road bond projects, which is more than half of the rst issuance from the county’s $480 million road bond program, per an update presented during the Oct. 28 Commissioners Court meeting. The breakdown Budget O cer Amanda Carter told commis- sioners the rst round of funds is already more than 50% allocated within just a few months. O cials said they are preparing for the next round of the bond issuance to provide more funding for road bond projects. Of that amount, about $60.1 million remains to be distributed. As of October, the county reported $129 million in total income from the 2025 road bond pro- gram—$128 million in bond proceeds and about
Governor appoints Mike Holley as DA
Allocations as of October
$31M
$17.6M
$15.7M
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed First Assistant District Attorney Mike Holley as the new Mont- gomery County district attorney on Oct. 29, per an Oct. 29 news release. Holley has been a part of the county’s DA o ce
$4.5M
Precinct 2
Precinct 3
Precinct 4
Precinct 1
SOURCE: MONTGOMERY COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPACT
Mike Holley
$1 million in interest earnings—according to the October nancial report. How we got here Montgomery County voters approved the $480 million road bond in May 2025, authorizing major transportation investments to address regional congestion and support growth across the county. This bond was the rst county voters had considered in 10 years, and it will fund 76 projects across the four precincts.
since 2012, and was promoted to the rst assistant district attorney in 2016, per the DA’s website. The details Holley will serve as Montgomery County’s DA until Brett Ligon’s current term expires on Dec. 31, 2026, per the release. Ligon resigned Oct. 2 to run for state Senate District 4.
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CONROE MONTGOMERY EDITION
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