FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth officials now expect to complete by 2030 a series of transformative renovations to the city's aging convention center.
In May, voters raised the city's hotel occupancy tax rate to fund the second phase of construction on the facility. Work on the first phase has been underway for months.
The refreshed convention center, in combination with Texas A&M's new School of Law building, promises to turn downtown's southeastern quadrant into a destination.
"Those projects will spur development around those facilities," Fort Worth Director of Public Events Michael Crum said. "It will, essentially, be a convention and learning district that is unlike any other in the country."
Construction crews installed the first steel piers for 'back-of-house' improvements in May. Those beams will support a new entrance to the convention center, as well as a state-of-the-art kitchen and catering space.
Toward the end of this year, workers will tear down the convention center's annex. The move will clear a path so Commerce Street can be straightened, a key component of the city's broader vision for the block.
"What we hope to do is incent development on the eastern side of Commerce Street that creates an entirely different type of experience in that area, compared to what you see today," Crum said.
The city envisions a walkable, shaded corridor from Texas A&M's new law building to the renovated convention center. Video displays similar to those in Dallas's AT&T Discovery District could line the street.
Ideally, Crum said, a hotel would open on the land created by Commerce Street's realignment. Mixed-use developments, potentially including retail and restaurant space, might also open on the stretch.
The city aims to finalize designs for the area by spring 2025.
"No question these investments will change downtown Fort Worth," Crum said.
Money generated by the city's hotel occupancy tax will pay for the second phase of construction, including the Commerce Street makeover. Voters in May raised the tax from 15% to 17%.
The toll is applied to nightly hotel reservations, meaning primarily tourists will pay for the convention center's facelift.
"They come to our market and spend money in our hotels, restaurants and retail establishments," Crum said. "They go home, but their money stays."
The city aims to tear down the iconic, flying saucer-style arena in 2027. Its demolition will make room for more modern convention space, including new meeting rooms, extended exhibit halls, and a second ballroom.
As planned, construction on the project's second phase would begin in 2027 and end in 2030.