Land swap could be end of Reunion
Dallas: Officials say city deal would create entertainment district
12:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, October 11, 2005
By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News
Dallas' city-owned Reunion Arena could be demolished as part of a land swap that government officials are negotiating with a real-estate firm, a city official said Monday.
The deal centers on the creation of an entertainment district between the Dallas Convention Center and Reunion Arena on land that the city and Dallas-based Hunt Consolidated each partially owns, said City Council member Ed Oakley. The council is tentatively slated to discuss the deal Oct. 19.
Jeanne Phillips, Hunt's senior vice president, said, "We are very pleased with the work that's been done by city staff, and we look forward to the discussion on the 19th."
Dallas Assistant City Manager Ryan Evans, who has led negotiations between the city and private interests, and Mayor Laura Miller could not be reached for comment Monday.
The land swap, according to Mr. Oakley and Hunt officials, would involve:
• Dallas giving Hunt Consolidated the rights to Reunion Arena, providing that Hunt lease the arena back to the city for $1 a year for three years. After that, Hunt is free to use the land as it pleases.
• Hunt giving Dallas rights to its share of Lot E, a parking lot near the convention center that is typically vacant.
• Dallas negotiating with Billy Bob Barnett, the developer of entertainment venues such as Billy Bob's Texas honky-tonk in Fort Worth, to build an entertainment district between the Convention Center and where Reunion Arena now stands, just north of Interstate 30. Dallas would negotiate to share in the entertainment district's revenue.
"Everyone has half a pie now and can't do anything until they have a whole pie," Mr. Oakley said of the deal. "With this deal, you're really bringing downtown to the river in two major ways. It's incredibly exciting."
As for Reunion Arena, Mr. Oakley said: "It ends up getting torn down. I don't think it has a viable use."
Ms. Phillips said it was difficult to predict the future of Reunion, the all-but-vacant former home to the city's professional sports teams and marquee entertainment events. "That's three years down the road," she said.
Reunion's footprint, coupled with surrounding lots, is more than 25 acres.
The land sits on the downtown banks of the Trinity River, which the city hopes to shape into a recreational and ecological showpiece.
Hunt owns the Hyatt Regency Dallas, which abuts the Reunion Arena land. Reunion has been losing more than $1 million in city money annually for several years.
Dallasmorning News
So does this mean that they are going to tear down the Reunion Tower?