The Dallas City Council on June 24 rejected a proposed redesign of the under-construction Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center Dallas, directing city staff to advance the project via its current design without further delay.
The completion of the project is expected in 2030; it was recently pushed back from 2029 and at least nine conventions were moved as a result, according to local news reports.
The City of Dallas said moving forward with the existing design would save an estimated $597 million in unfunded costs.
The call for a redesign was primarily concerned with potential roadway improvements to smooth traffic flow between downtown, southern Dallas and Dallas’ Oak Cliff neighborhood.
“This project is about jobs and opportunity for every part of Dallas,” said Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert in a media release. “Thousands of hospitality workers are counting on us to finish this building and bring conventions back. The City Council’s direction lets us keep that promise while we continue to work shoulder-to-shoulder with the community on the roadway design and options.”
Each additional month of delay, according to City of Dallas estimates, would carry an estimated $1.4 million in lost local tax revenue.
The City of Dallas said the City Council’s action will allow the city to begin alternative traffic-control modifications surrounding the convention center. The City Council also directed its staff to hire an independent transportation consultant to examine options.
“We are committed to getting the connection right, and to doing it with the community, not around it,” Tolbert said in the release. “Moving forward on the convention center does not slow that work. It lets both move at once.”
