After approving an increase in taxes on hotel rooms to 15 percent from 13 percent in November, the Dallas City Council recently released the first renderings of the coming revitalization of the 65-year-old Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center as well as the redesign of the surrounding neighborhood (image at bottom). When completed, Dallas will have a new center and a walkable convention district with restaurants, shops, and gathering spaces, including a public park atop the convention center. Estimated opening date: early 2029.
Currently offering one million square feet of exhibit space across a few levels plus 88 meeting rooms, the Hutchinson Convention Center will be expanded to a 2.5-million-square-foot facility featuring two exhibit halls of 800,000 square feet apiece set on a single level.
There will also be new meeting rooms—including a 105,000-square-foot ballroom set above a 65,000-square foot ballroom, both of which will connect to a main kitchen. Further, all the meeting space will be linked by a central atrium, while skybridges will connect the center to the 1,000-room Omni Dallas Hotel and any future hotel built in the immediate area.
The plan calls for the new hotel-tax hike to recoup the $3 billion cost over 30 years.
Other 2023 hospitality developments in Dallas include the spring debut of the first JW Marriott hotel in the city as well as the summer opening of the Hotel Swexan with 12,000 square feet of meeting space.
