Plans for the growing area just north of the city continue to expand in scope. Dallas will get a Four Seasons hotel on Turtle Creek Boulevard and Cedar Springs Road as part of a $750 million mixed-use development including the hotel; luxury condos; 100,000 square feet of office space; restaurants; a spa; health club; and ballroom space.

© Omni Hotels & Resorts

Another mixed-use development by Lincoln Property Co. and Saint Michael and All Angels near Preston Center will include a 14-story residential high-rise and a 12-story office building along Douglas Avenue. Trammell Crow’s 2401 McKinney Tower, expected to break ground this year, will include more than 600,000 square feet of mixed-use space for office and retail.

In Dallas, a new project by Trammell Crow and Michael Dell’s family trust will add three new buildings to Knox Street along Katy Trail. This 4-acre site will include a luxury condo tower and a small hotel by Auberge, plus a new park facing Katy. Two major projects now in the development stage will enhance the Dallas skyline. The first, The Link at Uptown, is a 22-acre project along McKinney Avenue featuring a 30-story office tower, a hotel and a 25-story residential tower, plus retail space, restaurants and a park. The second, Newpark, is a 20-acre development on Canton Street between Dallas City Hall and the Farmers Market. The first building will house a 38-story tower with office, hotel and residential space. The next phase will include more than 1,000 apartments, a grocery store, a movie theater, a fitness center and a community park.

A new JW Marriott opened in the Arts District with 267 rooms and a full-service restaurant, located near American Airlines Center and Klyde Warren Park. It is the first JW property in North Texas. Another luxury property, Hotel Swexan, will offer 134 luxurious rooms and multiple restaurants and bars for visitors in the Harwood District on the north end of downtown Dallas.

© Omni Hotels & Resorts

One of the largest developments in the metroplex, Omni Hotels & Resorts recently opened the $520 million Omni PGA Frisco Resort spread over 660 acres north of Dallas in Frisco. The major destination resort includes two championship golf courses by Hanse and Welling, 500 rooms and suites, four-bedroom ranch houses, 13 restaurant and bar concepts, four pools, a retail and entertainment space, and Mokara Spa … all overlooking Fields Ranch. The resort also includes nearly 130,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space and a PGA Coaching Center.

Frisco will also boast a new trade center by Dalfen Industrial, an investment company that built millions of square feet of warehouses in the metroplex. The first phase of the project, underway near the new PGA of America headquarters on Rockhill Parkway, will include a new industrial building totaling more than 262,000 square feet.

SCENIC DRIVES

Go west … to Fort Worth! Point your ride due west on Interstate 30, and in less than an hour you will be in a completely different kind of city. In contrast to the slick glitz, big business and congestion of the DFW metroplex, in Fort Worth you’ll find history of the cattle state, galleries, a growing arts district and museums.

© Typhoonski | Dreamstime.com

Make your first stop the historical Fort Worth Stockyards. At one time the largest in the Southwest, this National Historic District transformed into a unique entertainment area offering visitors an organized pub crawl, a ghost walking tour, several restaurants and even a murder mystery dinner.

Move on to Kimbell Art Museum, one of the finest small collections including works by Cezanne, Monet and Matisse. Wrap your daytrip with dinner and dancing at Billy Bob’s Texas honky tonk.