Plans for a $3.7 billion overhaul and expansion of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas are moving forward, as the Dallas City Council voted to approve contracts for architect and engineering services for two of the project components on January 8.
Recent contracts include $25.1 million with Gensler for the design of the renovation and reconstruction of the Dallas Memorial Auditorium and $22.3 million with KAI Design for the Black Academy of Arts and Letters (TBAAL).
“We are thrilled that both companies … will connect communities through their designs for both residents and visitors,” Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said in a statement.
Gensler will work with a team led by McKissack and McKissack, who officials had previously selected as the project manager for the auditorium, which is also slated to serve as the home of the WNBA’s Dallas Wings basketball team from next year KAI will support a team led by Dikita Enterprises Inc., which is leading the TBAAL component of the redevelopment.
Work is already underway on other parts of the plan. In November, Dallas officials awarded Trinity Alliance Ventures LLC a construction manager venture contract for the main component of the convention center. The contractor is a joint venture team led by AECOM Hunt and Turner Construction Co. together with 14 other companies. Developer Inspire Dallas is leading this component of the project, with Perkins&Will and Populous providing architect, engineer and design services on a $141.5 million contract.
The upgraded convention center is expected to have 800,000 square feet of exhibit hall space, 170,000 square feet of ballrooms and 260,000 square feet of meeting rooms. Event organizers plan to begin using the space in 2029.
City leaders also selected Dallas-based Metropolitan Infrastructure PLLC to manage another component, the renovation of Pioneer Plaza and the cemetery.
Local voters approved a 2 percent hotel tax in 2022 to fund the project.
