Downtown Fort Worth will get another luxury hotel. This one is in a vacant building

December 11,2020

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See full Fort Worth Star-Telegram article by Luke Ranker here.

Downtown Fort Worth’s hotel boom continues with plans for a 13-story Le Méridien at the old Hotel Texas Annex by the convention center.

The Downtown Design Review Board, a city design commission, approved design plans Thursday for the 230-room project at 815 Commerce St. Construction is expected to start in the spring and could be done by 2023. The hotel will have eight floors of rooms above a five-story parking garage. A rooftop penthouse is included in the designs, according the documents submitted to the board.

A restaurant is planned for the restored first-floor lobby and building’s exterior will remain largely unchanged.

Developers are expected to invest $52 million in the project, which is eligible for up to $8 million from a special downtown tax district, according to city documents. It could qualify for federal and state historic tax breaks as well. It’s expected to generate $1.4 million annually in property taxes and $1.5 million in hotel taxes.

Constructed in 1970, the building was an extension of the historic Hotel Texas, which is now the downtown Hilton. The extension has been vacant since 2006. President John F. Kennedy stayed in the hotel before his trip to Dallas.

Downtown Fort Worth has seen nearly 15% growth in its hotel market between last year and this year, according to Downtown Fort Worth Inc statistics. There are 3,693 rooms in the central district with 240 under construction and another 670 proposed. That past year’s construction is valued at $72 million, the organization said.