Arlington approves funding for new $550 million hotel near Live by Loews
By James Hartley
In return, Loews will agree not to pursue new developments in other parts of the region.
The city also believes the hotel will boost booking at AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Field and the city’s esports arena.
Tisch said people want to come to Arlington, even when there are no events, because of the entertainment district that already exists.
“Arlington really is an immersive destination,” Tisch said. “People who come to hotels for meetings want to be able to do things outside of their hotel at night.”
With Six Flags, the new Rangers Golf Club, the Cowboys, Rangers and Renegades sports teams and the events that come to the entertainment district, Tisch said Arlington has the ability to draw visitors to stay in the city if the hotel space is here.
Tisch said the development in Arlington is similar to the company’s development in Miami in the 1990s. Miami experienced an economic and tourism boom because of an influx of hotels and available accommodations, something he said Arlington can experience, too.
“We want to press our bet because we see a lot of similarities,” Tisch said.
“This (hotel) will change the way people think of travel and tourism in Arlington,” Tisch said.
The new convention center also will be a nice addition to Arlington’s entertainment district skyline, Tisch said.
Yelverton said at the city council’s afternoon work session that the hotel will likely be called “Loews Arlington” or “Loews Arlington, Tx.”
Loews opened its first Arlington hotel this year, Live! by Loews, connected to Texas Live! The company has similar projects in Miami, Philadelphia and Nashville, with another finishing development in Kansas City.
APARTMENTS, PARKING, OFFICES AND MORE RETAIL
The city will also foot an upfront grant of $11 million to The Cordish Company for expansions on Texas Live!, including a potential office building, and an apartment and retail complex.
The Cordish project incorporates the existing above ground structure of Globe Life Park, which the Rangers are leaving for the new Globe Life Field, with a new apartment and retail building attached to the ballpark-turned-Extreme Football League stadium. The apartments will be built at the intersection of Randol Mill Road and Nolan Ryan Expressway.
The apartments will also come with a parking structure fit to accommodate 1,900 vehicles, with 1,500 of those spaces being open to the public.
The office will be developed after anchor tenants have agreed to lease space in the building. Cordish said he has no doubt the office building will easily find tenants.
Cordish said his company also plans to open an office space called Spark, where start-ups and small companies can rent space in an open-space office setting shared with other organizations. Spark in Baltimore, which launched in 2016, incorporates available office spaces, as well.
Spark uses office space similar to popular companies WeWork or CommonGrounds Workplace.
Cordish said by bringing the new Loews hotel to the area, the city council allows the Cordish Companies to bring more offerings to the area.
Between the Loews and Cordish projects, the city expects more than $810 of private investment into the city, meaning the taxpayers will not be covering that $810 million.