The Flower Mound Town Council has paved the way for The Pearl on the Peninsula, a 12-story, 200-room hotel and conference center planned to overlook Grapevine Lake.
By 6-0 approval, the council on Monday May 4 approved $24 million in tax incentives over 21 years to ensure the project’s fruition. Construction costs are estimated at more than $80 million.
“The town has been trying to land an upscale luxury hotel for a decade or so. We’re very excited,” said Town Manager Jimmy Stathatos.
Sharing that excitement was Mayor Tom Hayden.
“Now we can have an incredible hotel and conference center with a lake view that can’t be found anywhere else in the Metroplex,” Hayden said in a news release.
The tax package was approved to help New Era Hotels & Resorts develop the centerpiece of a 25-acre peninsula portion of the 150-acre, mixed-use Lakeside DFW development.
The abatement is modeled after Chapter 380 of Texas local government code allowing rebates of future sales or property taxes. In this case, the developer will save hotel occupancy taxes for 21 years. In return, the town will enjoy a $5.6 million net benefit over the term of the agreement.
“It’s a tremendously competitive environment,” Stathatos said. “The town would not be able to land a hotel of this caliber without an incentive,” Stathatos said.
All incentives under the agreement are on a reimbursement basis, with no funds provided up front.
“And if they don’t perform, they don’t get the incentive,” Stathatos said of meeting requirements under Chapter 351 of state local government code covering municipal hotel occupancy taxes.
Driving the development are the Tarwater and Stewart families, who have owned the property since the 1890s.
“We are thrilled that L. Scott Tarwater…will lead the development effort since he sold the property to our family in 1982,” said Alan Stewart of Sunset Legacy LP, commenting in a news release.
More than 30 years ago, Stewart said that his father, Peter P. Stewart, envisioned a hotel overlooking the lake to complement the then-new Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
“Our family is thrilled that he will see his dream come true right before his 95th birthday,” Stewart said.
Groundbreaking is planned for summer 2015, later than initially planned, with construction expected to reach completion in late 2017. Managing the property will be DePalma Hotels & Resorts.
Serving as project architect will be Merriman Associates-Architects Inc., with Balfour Beatty serving as design builder. Also signed on to the project are TBG landscape design, with Fort Worth offices; Design Duncan Miller, interior design; Gateway Planning; and Kimley-Horn & Associates Inc. of Fort Worth providing engineering services.
The hotel’s top floor is planned to feature exclusive “sky villas” with lake views, with the facility also offering a 32,000 square-foot conference center. The developer plans to seek LEED certification, denoting standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, for the hotel and conference center.
The hotel will feature what planners call “a warm, yet modern design” featuring flexible meeting spaces, a 10,000-square-foot ballroom, an infinity pool and two restaurants – one a European market concept and the other a full-service upscale signature restaurant and bar. An additional bar is planned to be located near the outdoor pool.
More information is available at http://thepearlonthepeninsula.com/