DFW Hotels Bulk Up W/ Convention Center, Rail Growth

<B>DFW Hotels Bulk Up W/ Convention Center, Rail Growth</B>

By Robert Selwitz

Renovated and new hotels and intriguing transportation schemes mark the current business travel scene in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas.

For example, The Hyatt Regency Dallas has just completed its $72 million expansion and renovation project, and now offers more than 1,100 sleeping rooms and more than 200,000 square feet of meeting space. Highlights include the 30,000-sq.-ft. Landmark Ballroom with a 30-ft. ceiling.

According to general manager Steve Vissotzky, the spacious skein of uninterrupted space and high-tech amenities "make us even more attractive to meeting and event planners. We are now capable of booking functions we could not earlier accommodate."

The Fairmont Hotel also has completed a dramatic $25 million renovation to its rooms and public spaces. The 1,620-room Wyndham Anatole recently expanded its Trinity Hall, bringing the total exhibit space to 118,000 square feet. Overall, the property features 330,000 square feet of meeting space.

Another new upscale hotel that North Dallas-bound travelers can consider is the 201-room Westin Stonebriar Resort, a 322-acre property just 30 minutes from DFW International Airport.

Meanwhile, the Paramount Hotel has been purchased by Big D Hotel Associates, which plans to spend $4 million to refurbish the $118 million property. It will be re-named the Lawrence and feature 118 rooms and 1,500 square feet of meeting and banquet space.

In Fort Worth, which currently boasts some 11,000 hotel rooms, three new hotels are getting ready to make their debuts. The Ashton, opening in March, is a small, upscale, 39-room property in Sundance Square. Catering primarily to the business traveler, the hotel will come complete with an American bistro cuisine restaurant and piano bar.

In October, the Westin Golf Resort will feature 400 rooms in North Fort Worth at a site near the Texas Motor Speedway, a 20-minute ride from downtown. Amenities will include a Greg Norman-designed golf course and a conference center.

Construction shortly should commence on The T&P Renaissance. The 330-room upscale property just south of the Convention Center will have a railroad theme, since the building originally was the headquarters for the Texas and Pacific Railroad. Stationary sleeping should be available by mid-2002.

Several major lodging chains are bidding to build a new 500-room Convention Center headquarters hotel when extensive upgrade work at the center wraps up next year. The center will go from 171,000 square feet of exhibit space to 254,960. Meeting space will more than double, to 53,313, and there will be a new 30,000-sq.-ft. ballroom.

There's also significant news on the regional transportation front, particularly dealing with ground links between the two cities, which are roughly 40 miles apart. For starters, Trinity Railway Express in July will connect Dallas and Fort Worth by train. There will be stops at the T&P Building and at 9th and Jones streets. These stations also will be linked to the Longhorn Trolley, a rubber-tired trolley system connecting the Western Triangle sector. Fares will be $2 per ride or $5 for a day pass.

A new Trinity Railway Express/DFW Airport Shuttle links the new CentrePort/DFW Airport Station to all passenger terminals.

Shuttle buses meet all trains at the station, departing every 25 minutes during weekday rush hours and hourly during midday. Saturday service operates hourly midday and evenings.

The train trip from Union Station to CentrePort/DFW Airport Station takes about 30 minutes; the shuttle to the airport takes just 15 to 20 minutes. The shuttle service is free with a valid ticket or transit pass from either Dallas Area Rapid Transit or the "T," which operates public transit in Fort Worth.

On a grander scale, work has begun on a $2.5 billion capital development program at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. A highlight will be the billion-dollar International Terminal D, scheduled for completion in 2005. It will feature an automated people mover system, an eighth runway, plus an extension of two current runways. Terminal D will incorporate 1.8 million square feet, with 23 gates housing all of DFW's international flights.