A Dallas real estate developer has just completed a major project south of town and is working on another deal closer to home.
Todd Interests just won a battle with the state to develop 5,000 acres in Freestone County south of Dallas. The site of the company's luxury residential community includes the former Fairfield Lake State Park.
Todd Interest's latest initiative in Dallas is the pending renovation of the historic Oak Belmont Hotel in West Dallas.
Located on the corner of Fort Worth Avenue and Sylvan Avenue, this 64-room hotel opened in 1947 as the Belmont Motor Hotel. With views of the downtown skyline, coffee shop, and air conditioning, this roadside inn became a popular stop along the Dallas-Fort Worth route.
The Belmont, like other hotels along Fort Worth Street west of downtown Dallas, declined after the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike (now Interstate 30) opened in 1957. The Belmont was designed by noted Dallas architect Charles Dilbeck, who is credited with designing landmark homes. Located in the Park City and Dallas areas.
The landmark hotel closed at the beginning of the pandemic and remains vacant. Since 2015, it has been owned by investors including the Ford family of Dallas.
Todd Interest executives confirmed they are working with Ford to develop a plan to restore and reopen Belmont. Additional details about the development plan could not be disclosed.
The hotel was last renovated in 2004, when real estate broker and developer Monte Anderson acquired the vacant property and renovated it. The project is one of his first along Fort Worth Avenue in west Dallas.
Todd Interests is one of Dallas' most successful developers. This commercial real estate company is developing the East Quarter District on the far east side of downtown Dallas.
Todd Interests is also renovating the 49-story Energy Plaza building downtown. The office skyscraper, built in 1983, has been converted into a combination of residential and business spaces.
A months-long battle by Dallas developers for control of the Freestone County site that includes Fairfield Lake State Park, 150 kilometers south of Dallas, ended this week.
Todd Interests paid more than $100 million to buy the park, lake, and surrounding undeveloped land from longtime owner Vistra Corporation. The property will be developed as a luxury residential community with a country club and resort.
After the publicly advertised sale was completed, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission attempted to halt the transaction and threatened to use prominent ownership to seize the land.
Texas halted its condemnation plans this week after a judge-appointed commission said the property was worth more than $400 million.
