Dallas and the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex illustrate the saying that everything is bigger in Texas. While Houston remains the state’s largest city, the Dallas area has grown to a metro population exceeding 7.5 million and is seeing substantial new investments. A recently approved $2.5 billion expansion of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, slated for completion in 2029, will add roughly 2.5 million square feet of exhibit, breakout and ballroom space. Once complete, the expanded center will be the largest facility of its kind in the United States. A new transportation system will connect the center with thousands of hotel rooms and major office hubs across the city and will include an underground parking garage with space for about 2,000 vehicles.
Development north of downtown continues to accelerate. A Four Seasons hotel is planned for the Turtle Creek Boulevard and Cedar Springs Road area as part of a $750 million mixed-use project that will include the hotel, luxury condominiums, roughly 100,000 square feet of office space, restaurants, a spa, a health club and ballroom space.
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Near Preston Center, a Lincoln Property Co. and Saint Michael and All Angels development will feature a 14-story residential tower and a 12-story office building along Douglas Avenue. Trammell Crow’s 2401 McKinney Tower, expected to break ground this year, will deliver more than 600,000 square feet of mixed-use office and retail space.
A Trammell Crow project in partnership with Michael Dell’s family trust will bring three buildings to Knox Street along the Katy Trail on a 4-acre site, including a luxury condominium tower, a boutique Auberge hotel, and a new park facing the trail. Two major projects in development will further reshape the skyline: The Link at Uptown, a 22-acre plan along McKinney Avenue featuring a 30-story office tower, a hotel, a 25-story residential tower, retail, restaurants and park space; and Newpark, a 20-acre development on Canton Street between Dallas City Hall and the Farmers Market. Newpark’s first phase will include a 38-story tower combining office, hotel and residential space, with later phases adding more than 1,000 apartments, a grocery store, a movie theater, a fitness center and a community park.
A new JW Marriott in the Arts District opened with 267 rooms and a full-service restaurant, positioned near the American Airlines Center and Klyde Warren Park; it is the first JW Marriott property in North Texas. Another upscale option, Hotel Swexan, will offer 134 rooms along with multiple restaurants and bars in the Harwood District on the north end of downtown Dallas.
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One of the largest recent additions to the metroplex is the $520 million Omni PGA Frisco Resort, which opened north of Dallas in Frisco on a 660-acre site. The destination resort features two championship golf courses, 500 rooms and suites, four-bedroom ranch houses, multiple dining concepts, four pools, retail and entertainment spaces, and a full-service spa. The property also offers nearly 130,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space and a PGA Coaching Center.
Frisco is also expanding industrial capacity. Dalfen Industrial is developing a new trade center near the PGA of America headquarters on Rockhill Parkway. The first phase includes an industrial building totaling more than 262,000 square feet to support growing logistics and distribution needs in the area.
SCENIC DRIVES
Head west to Fort Worth via Interstate 30 and you’ll find a very different atmosphere in under an hour. Where Dallas and the broader DFW corridor are known for high-rise business districts and bustling development, Fort Worth emphasizes its cattle-town heritage, museums and a growing arts scene.
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Begin with the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, once the largest stockyards in the Southwest and now a National Historic District that offers guided tours, themed dinners, nightlife and events. Continue to the Kimbell Art Museum, home to an exceptional small collection that includes works by Cézanne, Monet and Matisse. End the day with dinner and live music at Billy Bob’s Texas, the famous honky-tonk that captures Fort Worth’s lively western spirit.