Convention Center Plans Could Hinge on Ray Washburne
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It looks like city staff and downtown stakeholders are landing on a particular layout for the redevelopment of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center that does indeed require the cooperation of developer Ray Washburne.
The Black Academy of Arts and Letters hosted a community briefing on the latest details of the convention center master plan on Thursday, during which attendees were reportedly shown site plans that resembled what Dallas City Council signed-off on back in March 2024, according to Dallas Business Journal. While this might seem silly to point out, it’s important to remember that this layout includes part of one of Washburne’s downtown holdings.
As previously reported by CandysDirt.com, Washburne bought the old Dallas Morning News headquarters at 508 Young St. back in 2019 and touted big plans for the property, including the development of a whole new entertainment district.
Those plans began to shift as city officials embarked on the multibillion-dollar redevelopment of the nearby convention center. Collaboration with or a sale to the city seemed to be in the cards, but Washburne appeared to throw his hands up in frustration earlier this year, alleging officials were not being communicative with him about their plans. In February, he announced he was going to sell the historic property to a data center company, claiming the deal would close as early as April.
Ever since Washburne’s dramatic announcement, Dallas City Council members and staff have been meeting in closed session to discuss the “purchase, exchange, lease, or value” of the property. Washburne bought the former headquarters for $28 million.
Thursday’s presentation seems to suggest officials aren’t counting themselves out of the running and a deal with Washburne could be in the cards, much to the likely disappointment of developer Hunt Realty, which previously pitched a site plan that would’ve seen the convention center redevelopment oriented toward Reunion Tower. Some 16 plans were considered by staff and stakeholders.
“We feel this is the most viable option going forward,” said Michael Lockwood, senior principal at the design firm Populous, per DMN.
As far as additional details go, presenters said the main entrance of the revamped convention center will face City Hall, the convention center will remain connected to the Omni Hotel, ballroom space will double, meeting space will nearly triple, and there will be more exhibition halls. Architectural design is now underway.
Rosa Fleming, the director of Dallas Convention and Event Services, said redevelopment has a shot of running between $2.5 billion and $3.5 billion, under the previously estimated $3.7 billion price tag. I wouldn’t put terribly much stock into these rather optimistic figures though as President Donald Trump’s tariff policy stands to dramatically increase building costs.
Even still, the reimagined convention center (at whatever price) will be a feather in the cap for a city that has been dogged with scrutiny over crime and homelessness in the Central Business District. Other projects are also in the works that could help revitalize downtown, such as the redevelopment of Bank of America Plaza.
