A former hotel in Dallas is set to be transformed into a mixed-use housing development.
Once complete, the former Cabana Hotel located at 899 North Stemmons Freeway will house 175 multi-family units. Of those, 70 will be affordable to income bands between 30% to 80% of the area median family income for 45 years.
The former hotel, constructed over six decades ago, was built by Jay Sarno. Sarno was responsible for developing the famous Las Vegas landmarks Caesar’s Palace and Circus Circus.
The building, which once boasted 300 hotel rooms, has welcomed the likes of Richard Nixon, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Beatles, and Norman Mailer. Before being discovered, Raquel Welch famously served drinks as a cocktail waitress at the Cabana.
The project to convert the hotel, which has sat vacant for over a decade, into a mixed-use housing development is expected to cost more than $116 million. The City of Dallas is providing upwards of $41 million in subsidies sourced from the Design District Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District.
At one point, the former hotel was converted into a jail, the Bill Decker Detention Center. While it is now closed, the City previously spent $5 million converting the property into a correctional facility that, when active, housed around 1,000 inmates.
Sycamore Development acquired the 10-story hotel in 2022 and has teamed up with Hunt Capital Partners to develop the project. When they complete the transformation, the firms plan to bring some of the property’s historic charm back to life.
“We are excited about the opportunity to revitalize such an important part of Dallas’ architectural history while providing much-needed mixed-income housing in the Design District… The unique design elements of the Cabana Hotel will make for one-of-a-kind units with unparalleled views of downtown Dallas,” Zachary Krochtengel of Sycamore Strategies told CandysDirt.com last year.