Grand Prairie city officials are forecasting significant economic growth once the city’s biggest entertainment and hospitality complex is completed later this year.
At the heart of Grand Prairie resides EpicCentral, a sprawling 172-acre mixed-use development featuring hotels, restaurants, recreation centers, a theater, a playground, outdoor pickleball courts, an indoor water park, and more.
Located off State Highway 161 and Arkansas Lane, the EpicCentral development will be completed later this year with the construction of two conference hotels and three more restaurants.
The hotel portion of the project, which will connect to the rest of the development via two pedestrian bridges and walkways, will include a 129-unit Hilton Garden hotel and a 147-room Homewood Suites. Both hotels and the three additional restaurants are due to open later this fall.
“It’s our goal to become a top-five destination in the Metroplex for tourism,” said Megan Suarez Mahan, who serves dual roles as Grand Prairie’s assistant city manager and city attorney, to the Dallas Business Journal.
“I feel like we’re on our way to that,” she added.
The journey to making Grand Prairie a major tourist destination and entertainment hub didn’t feature a road map when Mahan and other local officials devised their plan for the development site.
Local officials believe the EpicCentral development will stimulate economic growth by enticing more businesses, people, and entertainment venues to relocate to Grand Prairie. This is a goal that neighboring Dallas has struggled to accomplish — partly due to the City’s problematic development process and slow permit approval times.
“It’s excellent to have been a part of [EpicCentral],” said Mahan, per DBJ. “Most lawyers don’t see the product of their work. It’s really neat to walk around and be like, ‘I played a small part in this.’”
Multiple attractions at EpicCenter are already up and running. These include a Chicken N Pickle venue with pickleball courts; an Epic Waters indoor waterpark; a fitness, arts, and recreation facility called The Epic; an all-ages playground by PlayGrand Adventures; and an active senior adult facility known as The Summit.
“It’s a really interesting moment for Grand Prairie. We’re really growing right now,” said Mahan, per DBJ.
“We’re on our way on economic development. The last five years have been a real game-changer for us. … But we have to be thoughtful and careful about how we do that. It’s a lot of responsibility.”
