Chavez Properties' MO is to buy land, build and operate parking lots and sell "when the highest and best use comes at the right time," Anderson says. The company once owned more than 40 acres in the Downtown, but it's now down to 20.

Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert has ticketed the convention center hotel to be one of his signature projects. Unlike four years ago, city leaders didn't start by asking developers for turnkey deals. Instead, they're starting with a site on the convention center's doorstep.

"The reason why we made this deal with the city, and we went under this option, is to help the city facilitate this," Anderson says. "The fear was they would build it in the wrong place. People and developers make mistakes and can build in the wrong location."

Anderson says financing options and the political climate also are working in the deal's favor. "The time's right. We're at a bit of a critical mass--the financing market's right and the political timing is there," he says. "I think the stars are aligned at this time."

Heather M.D. Small, analyst for Portsmouth, NH-based Lodging Econometrics, says Dallas' in-town areas have 15,600 rooms, with 817 more under construction in five projects that will deliver in the coming year. In contrast, there are 17,000 rooms in Atlanta's Downtown, 33,000 in Chicago and 16,700 in Boston. And citing Smith Travel Research of Hendersonville, TN, Small reports Dallas and Norfolk, VA are the only metros without dedicated convention center hotels in the nation's Top 25 cities.

According to PKF Consulting Inc.'s Texas Trends, there are 6,546 rooms in 18 hotels in the Dallas CBD proper. Randy McCaslin, PKF vice president, says 2007 occupancy averaged 62.5% and the average daily room rate was $166. Occupancy dipped 0.6% from 2006, but ADR picked up $10 per night in the past year.

"It's a tough situation for Dallas. Yes, they definitely need a convention center hotel, but they need to revitalize the Downtown some more," McCaslin says. In order to be a first-tier convention city, he says Dallas needs at least a 6,000-room block to win business. Not having a dedicated hotel, he says "puts them at a disadvantage."

Dallas' in-town hotels are "scattered over a large area and that's inconvenient to conventioneers," PKF senior vice president John Keeling points out. "Building something Downtown like a convention center hotel will add a whole new dimension and make them more competitive for conventions."

Jennifer Vey, a fellow in urban work for Washington, DC-based Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program, says a convention center hotel is a sustainable project if it's part of a larger picture. "The success of a convention center can vary from place to place," she says, "but I don't think any city can claim a convention center has turned their Downtown around. There is no doubt that convention centers and hotels aren't silver bullet strategies."

Dallas, though, has turned the corner on its revitalization initiatives, with projects of all types being added to the skyline. "We have been making great strides in reviving our Downtown. Some of those projects are just phenomenal," Gonzalez says. "But, we recognize that this area of Downtown has not received the attention it needs to be part of the renaissance. And, we recognize this is not a silver bullet to attract convention business, but we also recognize that it's an important part of us getting more competitive."