DALLAS — One of the wealthiest developers in North Texas warns a new plan to build a high-speed rail through Downtown Dallas could force it to "sacrifice" the city's iconic Reunion Tower.
Hunt Realty Investments, a division of the company founded by the wealthy Hunt family, said the plan for an above-ground bullet train track through downtown would be "an ugly scar" tearing apart neighborhoods and risking the economic viability of businesses.
North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTXCOG) Director of Transportation Michael Morris and other proponents of the plan -- which would connect Houston to Dallas in 90 minutes and Dallas to Fort Worth in 25 more -- call it "transformative with a capital T."
The opposition from the Hunt group could be a capital-P Problem for the project, as evidenced by sharp questions from many city council members at a scheduled briefing Wednesday.
"I believe at this time what we're saying at this time is we want this project to go out for further study," said Councilman Jesse Moreno, who represents the portion of downtown that includes Reunion Tower.
Renderings commissioned by Hunt Realty Investments show the train line passing inches from the Hyatt Regency's hotel room windows and the Reunion Tower complex. This would force the company to sacrifice more than 1,000 hotel rooms, its affordable housing development plans and the iconic Reunion Tower Ball, Hunt Realty Investments President Colin Fitzgibbons said.
"This, in turn, would damage the economic impact of the new Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center and put at serious risk the economic viability of the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Reunion Tower," Fitzgibbons said in a statement.
A spokesperson said the company opposes the planned above-ground route from Dallas to Fort Worth, which would go through downtown Dallas. The company is in support of a train connection from Dallas to Houston.
Morris said concerns about the impact to the convention center redevelopment plans had not been previously raised. "I'm unaware of any issue the convention center has ever had to whatever we're doing on high speed rail," he said.
He declined to name a specific developer who may be attempting to derail the project before it begins.
"I think there’s a developer that wishes that high-speed rail between Dallas and Houston and Dallas and Fort Worth would never happen," he said.
The plan
The proposal is unquestionably an ambitious one with a complicated set of priorities and funding structures, described by Morris as a "Christmas tree" plan, with lots of projects hanging on a central vision.
It would include the Amtrak-supported high-speed rail line from Houston to a new Dallas station in The Cedars, a NCTXCOG proposed extension of the same line to Fort Worth via Arlington, the already-approved renovations to the convention center, an upgrade to the existing Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station and an air-conditioned people-mover to traverse nearly a mile between the proposed high speed station and Union Station.
"It’s a gamechanger. I mean someone mentioned 'The Big D.' This could really made Dallas a leader in conventions, in intercity transportation and technology," Morris said.
Amtrak's Andy Byford, a world-renowned transportation leader, told city council of the national railroad company's vociferous support for the Houston to Dallas portion of the project.
"This is without question the most compelling city pairing nationally," Byford said.
He said the combination of populated terminus cities, a straightforward topography and an intermediate distance suboptimal for cars and planes makes the project a top Amtrak priority.
Councilman Moreno said he believed a majority of his colleagues were on board for the Houston portion of the route, which Amtrak said could be ready for implementation by 2025.
"However we’re not there yet with Dallas to Fort Worth with its current alignment bisecting our skyline, bisecting one of the most iconic buildings in the city of Dallas," Moreno said.
The opposition
Councilmembers raised a variety of issues at the sometimes hostile meeting Tuesday. Some of the concerns mirrored directly the statement and supporting documents circulated by the Hunt Realty Investments group.
Councilmembers Paul Ridley and Cara Mendelsohn quoted directly from a 2017 report commissioned by the Federal Railroad Administration which found "considerable obstacles" to building a rail line connection along I-30 from Dallas to Fort Worth.
Ridley repeatedly asked whether the existing TRE rail line from Dallas to Fort Worth could be accelerated to higher speeds, which Morris said was not feasible with the existing infrastructure.
Others raised concerns the elevated rail line could cut through neighborhoods, causing blight and dividing the city in a manner reminiscent of I-345, which the city is now moving forward with a plan to move below ground.
"I want us to be very thoughtful with what we’re building and the impact of what we’re building," Councilwoman Kathy Stewart said.
"I want to make sure that we’re able to bring in housing, that we’re able to bring in hotels to service and function for the convention center and also bring in walkability and green space," Moreno said.
Morris and Byford said moving the planned high speed station underground could imperil the entire federal project and causing passengers to change trains in Dallas en route from Houston to Fort Worth could dramatically reduce ridership and ease of use.
Councilman Chad West and others raised concerns about the so-called "single seat" seamless connection between Houston and Fort Worth via Dallas that plan proponents said city council agreed to in the mid-2010s. City staff could not point to where the previous council promised to commit to avoiding a train transfer in Dallas.
Several councilmembers said they wanted to see the economic impact and cost of the Fort Worth extension before moving forward with plans. Morris said an environmental study would include that information and is scheduled to be completed within the year.
Next steps
Morris said he wanted to continue meeting with developers to come to a "win-win solution" for the proposal.
"I’m more than confident we can work this out," Morris said.
Fitzgibbons of Hunt Realty urged delay in moving forward.
"We are very hopeful that the Dallas City Council will take the additional time required to properly evaluate this entire proposal in order to fully understand what the current economic and urban planning facts are and how projections and assumptions made many years ago need to be updated and reexamined," his statement said.
Cost estimates for the rail projects are not yet solidified, but should be within the next year, Morris and Byford said.
Byford estimated the federal Amtrak project would cost $30 billion. Morris estimated "north of $6 billion" for the Fort Worth expansion.