Fresh off winning a monumental battle over Fairfield Lake State Park for a planned $1 billion resort community, Todd Interest is plotting a hotel project in West Dallas.
Shawn Todd’s firm wants to renovate the historic Belmont Hotel at 901 Fort Worth Avenue, which closed at the start of the pandemic and has since remained vacant, the Dallas Morning News reported.
The 64-room hotel, which opened in 1947 as the Belmont Motor Hotel, is adjacent to Oak Cliff and Trinity Groves. Monte Anderson bought and renovated it in 2005, adding a pool, and putting on events such as weddings and concerts. It’s been owned by an investment group that includes Dallas’ Ford family since 2015.
The Belmont, designed by renowned Dallas architect Charles Dilbeck, has a view of the downtown skyline. It was a popular destination until the decline of hotels along Fort Worth Avenue following the opening of the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike in 1957, the outlet said.
Todd Interests will collaborate with the Ford family to restore and reopen the Belmont. Details haven’t been disclosed.
Todd Interests is recognized as one of Dallas’ real estate heavyweights, and it is no stranger to renovation and conversion. It’s been involved in high-profile projects, including the National, a 51-story office conversion to apartments and a Thompson Hotel.
The firm has its own offices at 400 North Ervay, a former U.S. Postal Service office built in 1929, which Todd converted to apartments and event space.
Todd is also renovating the 49-story Energy Plaza downtown. The firm aims to transform the 1.3 million-square-foot building into a mix of apartments and offices.
The company emerged victorious in its battle over Fairfield Lake State Park. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission halted condemnation plans after a judge-appointed commission valued the property at over $400 million.