The Jefferson Viaduct heading into Downtown. Photo by Victoria Hernandez.
The Dallas City Council denied the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s recommendation to redesign the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center to keep the current path of the Jefferson Viaduct into Downtown.
In a 9-6 vote at Wednesday’s council meeting, council members voted to follow through with the lowered height of the convention center. This design removes the current entry into Downtown from the Jefferson Viaduct going into Market Street.
This lowered version was designed to cut $500 million from the cost of the convention center.
In a memo shared on Thursday, June 18, City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said that she did not support the recommendation to redesign the building again due to “the economic impacts and project delays” a redesign would cause.
Those delays also could have come with an estimation of more than $271 million in lost clients to competitive cities and approximately $1.4 million a month in future losses, according to the memo. Additionally, the expected cost of the redesign was estimated to be nearly $600 million.
Other council members raised concerns about the economic impacts and how another delay in the convention center completion could impact the revitalization of Downtown.
District 1 Council member Chad West said at the council meeting that the way this redesign was shared with the community lacked transparency and proper community engagement.
“There is an overwhelming consensus in my district that the convention center’s development should not come at the expense of Oak Cliff residents and our connection to Downtown,” West said.
During the discussion with council members, city staff emphasized that southern Dallas will still have a connection to Downtown. Gus Khankarli, director of the Department of Transportation and Public Works, said that the number of lanes will remain the same for the rerouting of the viaducts.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Maxie Johnson, who represents District 4, verified during the council meeting that even with construction, southern Dallas will still have access to Downtown. He added that he understands there will be frustration with delays and construction, but that there will still be an access point and that matters to him.
“I’ve done a lot of work in southern Dallas advocating for equity. And it’s not equitable to have our community not have access to Downtown, but it’s also not equitable to have people lose their jobs and delay,” Johnson said.
