The Dallas City Council voted 9-6 on Wednesday to move forward with the current redesign of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, rejecting a proposal that would have restored the project’s original height and preserved existing traffic patterns between Oak Cliff and downtown Dallas.
The decision keeps construction on schedule but will ultimately eliminate the current configuration of the Houston Street and Jefferson Street viaducts. These two major routes connect southern Dallas neighborhoods to the city’s central business district.
City leaders said reversing course would have significantly increased costs and delayed the convention center project, while opponents argued the plan would weaken a critical transportation link for residents.
Convention Center Height Debate
The controversy centers on a redesign that lowered the convention center by two stories as part of a cost-saving effort intended to reduce project expenses by roughly $500 million.
Under the original plan, the convention center would have been tall enough to allow traffic on the Houston Street and Jefferson Street viaducts to continue passing beneath the structure. The lower design eliminates that possibility, requiring changes to how traffic moves between Oak Cliff and downtown.
Earlier this month, the city’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recommended returning to the taller design to preserve the existing viaduct connections.
However, city staff warned that such a move would require a major redesign and create substantial delays.
Cost And Delay Concerns
In a memo to council members, Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert estimated that reverting to the original design would add approximately $597 million to the project’s cost and push the convention center’s opening into 2030, at least a year later than currently planned.
According to the city manager, the delay could result in more than $271 million in lost convention-related business, with additional losses estimated at $1.4 million per month.
Visit Dallas President and CEO Craig Davis urged council members to keep the project moving.
“I’m here on behalf of the 60,000 workers whose livelihoods depend on what you decide here today,” Davis told council members, per Fox 4 KDFW. “Last week, we notified over 40 convention organizers that we could not accommodate them in 2030 as originally promised. That is nearly 2 billion in spending leaving the city.”
Davis said the convention center’s closure has already cost the city millions in economic activity and forced the relocation of dozens of events.
Concerns Over Oak Cliff Access
Residents and community leaders from Oak Cliff voiced concerns that the redesign will make it more difficult to reach downtown.
Under the city’s current proposal, Houston Street would be reduced to one lane in each direction. Jefferson Boulevard would maintain two lanes in each direction but would terminate near the Reunion parking garage south of the convention center. A future flyover ramp connecting Jefferson to Houston Street would be built later, though no final design or funding plan has been approved.
Dallas City Council member Chad West, whose district includes parts of Oak Cliff, opposed the plan.
“We shouldn’t be cutting off access, we should improve it,” West said, WFAA reported. “We will make a decision that cannot be undone.”
West later said he could not support a plan that limits Oak Cliff’s connection to downtown after years of concerns about investment and accessibility in southern Dallas.
Bishop Arts Neighborhood Association President William Joy also criticized the proposal.
“Should the city that just lost its signature downtown retailer, its signature downtown employer, both of its downtown sports teams, while cities across our region are spending hundreds of millions to draw people into their downtowns, run around and make it more difficult for its own residents to reach our core?” Joy said, per Fox 4.
Resident Linda Vanderford framed the issue as a choice between supporting visitors and serving residents.
“The convention center serves visitors,” she said, per WFAA. “The viaduct serves the residents.”
Council Moves Forward
Supporters of the current plan argued that another redesign would jeopardize the project’s economic benefits and further delay construction.
Councilwoman Kathy Stewart said she could not support returning to the original height due to the added costs and the potential loss of convention business.
Following the vote, the council directed city staff to continue advancing the project without additional delays.
In a statement, Tolbert said the city remains committed to improving transportation connections among downtown, Oak Cliff, and southern Dallas while proceeding with construction of the convention center.
“We are committed to getting the connection right, and to doing it with the community, not around it,” Tolbert said, CBS News Texas reported. “Moving forward on the convention center does not slow that work. It lets both move at once.”
While the convention center project will proceed under the approved design, questions remain about the final configuration of the Houston and Jefferson viaducts and whether future roadway changes will require additional City Council approval.
