DMN article details Jack Matthews/Mattews Southwest plans for Dallas Convention Center hotel

“We believe (the hotel) will be a huge benefit to South Dallas and will kick off a lot of development.” Jack Matthews

I’ve gotten a number of emails over the last couple of months regarding my writings on the Dallas Convention Center Hotel. Many of them we’re thinking I’d pulled my thoughts on the subject out of thin air.

Now there’s another voice weighing in on the subject. Sheryl Jean of the Dallas Morning News writes an article regarding Matthew’s plans for the property on the convention center’s southern side. Here are some highlights from the article.

• Regardless of whether the city chooses Jack Matthews and his Matthews Southwest company in Lewisville, he’ll be involved in development related to the hotel. Mr. Matthews is assembling a block of property to develop office, residential, retail and entertainment space and a potential hotel on South Lamar Street near Eddie Deen’s Ranch – and possibly the Texas-themed banquet hall itself.

• “We do believe … [a hotel] is the highest and best use for the site because of where it is in relation to the convention center and the DART line and the visibility from Interstate 30,” Mr. Matthews said. “We believe it will be a huge benefit to South Dallas and will kick off a lot of development.”

• In the selection process of a developer, they may identify a location that the City Council and city staff might find works better,” said Frank Poe, the city’s director of convention and event services. “We’ve said the land could be used for a convention center hotel or used for expansion of the convention center,” he said.

• Some city and real estate leaders have called the publicly subsidized hotel plan risky and question whether the market can support more rooms. Others think a convention center hotel is crucial. Mr. Matthews has big plans for the South Side. He has hired Foster & Partners, a London-based architecture and planning firm, to create a master plan for the area.

Read Ms. Jean’s article from yesterday’s business section by clicking here.  I still support the Matthews Southwest plan.  You can read my thoughts on the subject here, here, and here.  And remember, you heard it here first.