The 2001 hotel builder said no resident component was needed:  

For Lakeside chonology see Lakeside 1994 Denied

 

Fort Worth Star Telegram April 19, 2005 / Ellena Morrison

Flower Mound hotel project hinges on incentives 

 

          FLOWER MOUND - A proposed $56 million hotel complex at the Lakeside DFW business district would include 280 rooms, 28,000 square feet of meeting space, two ballrooms and two restaurants, adding energy to the slow-growing district.

          The development would also include 45 to 65 condominiums that would sell for about $500,000 each.

          But the project hinges on what incentives the town can offer hotel developer Hines Development, an international development company, town officials said.

          "Nothing is a done deal, but I am excited about it," Councilman Paul Stone said.

Hines, the company that developed the Galleria malls in Dallas and Houston, is set to purchase 9 acres at Lakeside DFW, on the shores of Lake Grapevine in south Flower Mound. The hotel complex could anchor the 163-acre Lakeside DFW.

          The project would follow the 1,511-room, $480 million Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, which opened last year on the lake in Grapevine.

          Many details about the Flower Mound project, such as when construction would begin, remain unanswered.

          To go forward, Hines wants a 100 percent rebate for all property and occupancy taxes collected over seven years. It also wants the town to waive development and permit fees, along with other incentives, according to a town memo.

          In return, Hines would agree to create $50 million in new assessed property value within five years of the agreement. If Hines fails to do so, the incentives would be refunded, the memo states.

          And eventually, the town could collect property and occupancy taxes on the complex property.

          On Monday, the Town Council postponed any decision on the incentives at the request of Hines officials. The council will revisit the issue May 2 during a public hearing so residents can comment on the project.

          Hines officials did not attend Monday's meeting and could not be reached to comment.

          According to a town analysis, the agreement would cost Flower Mound about $8.14 million in incentives and $603,000 in public service costs, such as water lines, but tax revenue should eventually more than make up for that cost.

          Stone said he was initially "hesitant" over the incentives' cost, but after staying at one of the company's hotels in Virginia, he changed his mind.

          Hines has developed more than 650 projects in 11 countries, including hotels that use the Hilton, Westin and Doubletree names.

          Flower Mound established the Lakeside DFW business district in 2000 to attract businesses and the tax revenue they produce. The district has several retail and shipping companies but a sluggish economy has slowed growth in the development, which is a couple of miles from the northern runway at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.

          "It's a slow start but a good start," Councilwoman Laurie Long said of the Hines project.