Developers Plan $200M Complex

Developers Billy Bob Barnett and Bill Beuck say they want to build the project, known as the Irving Equestrian Arts & Entertainment Complex, on a parcel of land in the Las Colinas Urban Center area. The proposal comes less than three months after Dallas rejected a similar plan after several city councilors complained that the developers didn't provide adequate proof of financing.

After that rejection, the pair took the plan here, where it was unveiled before city councilors, Leanne Weymouth, executive director for the Las Colinas Marketing Alliance, tells GlobeSt.com. The council expects to receive a formal presentation, including financial projections and more specific details, within the next 60 days, city officials say. The developers have estimated that the complex could attract more than 3.5 million people annually.

"The people I've talked to are very positive about it," Weymouth says. "They feel its going to bring a lot of people to Irving and will be a real complement for Las Colinas." Talks between the developers and the Irving City Council are still in the "exploratory" phase, she adds.

"We strongly believe in the viability of the place and Irving being in the center of that marketplace makes a lot of sense for us," says Beuck. "It seems like the perfect setting to do this long-term development program."

Beuck says that he expects to learn by month's end whether Irving officials will approve the plan. Once all the approvals are received, he says, work could begin sometime this winter with completion slated for sometime in 2008.

Plans for the complex call for a "Street of Music" featuring a series of small music venues and specialty shops that will add a "Rodeo Drive environment" to the center, the developers describe in an outline of the proposal. Two high-end boutique hotels, one of which will include a film and music studio, will connect directly to that street and a new DART station and two parking garages for 4,000 cars will be located on site. Conference and meeting space will also be built as part of the project.

The project's main facility, which will house a 5,000-seat showroom, is expected to offer five nights of live entertainment weekly and feature a Founders Club and rooftop spa and health club. An outdoor arena, surrounded by open space, also will be available for equestrian arts and special events.