by Jeanne Brei
Talk on the show floor this week is about the convention center news from Long Island, New York, to Dallas, Texas.
Midway Crossing in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, New York
On May 12, the Long Island Regional Planning Council voted to support Midway Crossing, a $2.8 billion dollar project that includes a 300,000-foot convention center, a 300-room hotel, a 180,000-square-foot sports and entertainment complex with a 4,000-seat indoor arena and an outdoor arena with 4,000 to 6,000 seats, a 1 million-square-foot life sciences center, and a new, northern terminal at Long Island MacArthur Airport that would be built near the Ronkonkoma Long Island Rail Road station. The 2.7 million square feet of new construction would be built on almost 180 acres of county- and town-owned land, including parts of MacArthur Airport and a Long Island Rail Road parking lot and would take 10 to 15 years to complete (beginning with environmental studies for the site, and public hearings for multiple approvals needed from Islip Town, Suffolk County, and state and federal agencies before construction can begin).
In a statement from Islip Town Supervisor, Angie Carpenter, “The Town of Islip, Suffolk County and the jointly-selected Master Developer, Jones, Lang, LaSalle (JLL), have been working collectively on a new concept, a multi-use development that connects Long Island MacArthur Airport with the upgraded service from the Ronkonkoma Railroad station. Midway Crossing will be an innovative office research complex, dedicated to life sciences, along with a sports and entertainment venue, and a hotel and convention center, which will all be easily accessed by train, upgraded road systems and the airport. This transformative project, which would not burden our property taxpayers, would instead, fully utilize our highly-educated workforce, provide high-paying jobs, and keep our young people on Long Island, long into the future.”
JLL, a multinational corporation with more than 98,000 employees and 2021 revenues of $19.4 billion, specializes in building and managing large projects such as hotels, military housing, and sports and health care facilities. The company was project manager for the $1 billion renovation of Madison Square Garden, which was completed in 2013.
But in the last two months of waiting for approval from the FAA before they could go forward, critics have begun questioning the scope of the project. They question whether the convention center and sports complex included in the plan are economically viable, and also worry that the project would mean unwanted sprawl and traffic and put pressure on key infrastructure like water, roads and sewage. Residents gathered at the Lakeland Fire Department in Ronkonkoma this week to view images of the plan and give their feedback and another open house will be held at the firehouse July 21 from 2-8 p.m.
Dallas Set for Expanded Convention Center to Debut in 2028
The Dallas City Council approved plans in February to build a 2.5-million-square-foot convention center adjacent to the current Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. It will feature 800,000 square feet of exhibit space and 400,000 square feet of breakout area, including a 100,000-square-foot of ballroom. Construction on the $2 billion center is expected to begin in 2024, with a projected opening date in 2028.
“This news is a game changer for Dallas and will put our city on the map as the preeminent large-city convention and meeting destination in the nation,” says Craig Davis, Visit Dallas President & CEO.
The center will not only be impressive on the inside, the outdoor event area will feature terraces with incredible views of downtown Dallas and the Trinity River. In addition to the expansion, there be an all-new entertainment experience connecting the convention center with neighboring districts like the Cedars and the planned Rail District, creating a walkable experience that includes restaurants, retail, entertainment and lodging options.
In April, the city council agreed to put a measure on the November ballot calling for a 2 percentage-point rise in the hotel occupancy tax to help pay for the new convention center, as well as further tourism improvements in Dallas. Currently, guests in city hotels pay 7 percent to Dallas and 6 percent to the state, for a total of 13 percent; properties with 100 or more rooms apply an extra 2 percent Tourism Public Improvement District tax for marketing purposes, for a total of 15 percent. The three-mile radius around the convention center is a “project-financing zone,” which allows the city to keep all of the taxes generated within that zone.
Also, Dallas has nearly 20,000 hotel rooms in the pipeline with 5,000 new rooms currently under construction. The new 15-story, 283-room JW Marriott opened in February this year in the heart of Dallas’ downtown Arts District and features a 25,000 square-foot grand ballroom plus a spa, restaurant, lobby bar, fitness center and a rooftop pool deck and bar. Also slated to open this year are the Harwood Hotel, a new 20-story luxury hotel in Uptown’s Harwood District (with cantilevered upper floors and a swimming pool and garden on the roof) and the Mandarin Oriental, Dallas in the city’s Turtle Creek neighborhood. The new 25-floor mixed-use development will include 176 guestrooms and suites, as well as 100 Mandarin Oriental-branded residences. The hotel will feature four restaurants and bars, meeting and event facilities, a spa, a fitness center and an outdoor pool. Dallas-based JMJ Development will own the hotel and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group will operate it.
