Ft Worth Times

Fort Worth City Council members approved a $40 million expansion for the Omni Hotel downtown and other local businesses during an emergency meeting this week. 

As a precaution against COVID-19 spread, the City Council meeting was conducted through a video call, which is allowed by state law so long as residents of the city can access the video live and submit comments and questions. 

During the meeting, the Council  Deputy City Manager Jay Chapa said the contract to buy the May Owen Center is why the grant needed to be approved this month. 

“They wanted to be able to move forward with negotiations with some assurances from the city,” Chapa said. “It’s timing more than anything.”

Chapa said the luxury hotel expansion was important to the city's economy and thus needed to proceed despite the city's focus on coronavirus prevention. A hotel tax will be used to fund the expansion, but Fort Worth won't pay until the project is finished in 2023. This could also decrease the amount the city has to pay based on factors throughout the years. 

The Omni Hotel expansion is required to spend $175 million minimum and have 15% put toward women and minority businesses. 

Councilwoman Ann Zadeh said the Council had already discussed the expansion in detail and that it is expected to bring $43 million to the city in tax revenues. 

“Had we not been in these challenging times of canceled meetings this proposal would have come forward in a regularly scheduled meeting after progressing through the regular process,” Zadeh said. “This proposal has the capability to continue the improvement strides we have witnessed on this end of downtown.”

The expansion for the hotel as been long discussed as a greatly needed expansion for the convention center downtown. 

The expansion is expected to be finished by 2023, where people attending conventions often have a hard time finding available hotels while in town. 

Omni Hotel plans on buying the Tarrant County College property that is south of the hotel to use for its expansion. A 20-story tower similar to the current hotel is expected to be placed on the property and will have a 50,000 square foot meeting space.