Rooms for growth

Popular Dallas-Fort Worth resort debuts $120 million expansion

The Gaylord has a new claim to fame.

Photo courtesy of the Gaylord

One of the biggest hotels in the Dallas-Fort Worth area just got a lot bigger thanks to a $120 million, 303-room addition. The Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine — the top money-making hotel in Texas — celebrated the grand opening April 20 of its new Vineyard Tower.

With the opening of the Vineyard Tower, the resort now has 1,814 guest rooms, up from 1,511. In addition, the expansion adds 86,000 square feet of meeting space, bringing the property’s total meeting space to about 490,000 square feet.

As measured by self-contained exhibit and meeting space, the Gaylord Texan Resort now ranks as the country’s third largest convention and meeting hotel outside the gaming sector.

In keeping with the Gaylord's rustic and refined aesthetic, the first floor of the Vineyard Tower welcomes guests with a dedicated main driveway and outdoor garden terrace.

One of the tower's highlights is the 30,000-square-foot Tate Ballroom, named in honor of Grapevine’s longtime mayor, William Tate. The décor in the second-floor ballroom pays tribute to the Texas longhorn.

Nashville, Tennessee-based Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc. owns the Grapevine resort.

“This expansion illustrates Ryman Hospitality Properties’ confidence in group-business demand within our brand,” says Mike Stengel, senior vice president of operations for Gaylord hotels and Marriott convention hotels.

A report from San Antonio-based hotel consulting firm Source Strategies Inc. shows that in 2017, the Gaylord Texan Resort collected the most overall room revenue among Texas hotels — nearly $89.1 million.

The resort hosts an array of major events in Grapevine. For instance, the property will be the site of Meeting Professionals International’s World Education Congress in 2020. In 2013, the gathering was held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas.

With its many restaurants and other amenities — including Glass Cactus Nightclub, Paradise Springs waterpark, Relâche Spa & Salon — the Gaylord is also a popular staycation destination for Dallas-Fort Worth residents. Its holiday lights and ice displays make it a top attraction throughout December.

hotels

DART News

DART receives $7 million federal grant for new low-emission buses

Gillig

undefined

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has received a grant to update its fleet of buses. According to a release, the agency was awarded a $7.094 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration to support the purchase of new buses as the agency phases out its fleet of older model vehicles.

The grant awarded to DART is one of 165 transit projects across the U.S. funded with more than $2 billion in federal grants.

In February, DART purchased 476 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses from Gillig, a California-based manufacturer of heavy-duty transit buses, to fulfill their goal to modernize their transit system over the next decade — particularly via new buses and light-rail vehicles to replace the oldest units in their aging fleet.

The phase-in of those new vehicles is expected to be executed through 2027.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered buses are a near-zero emission option, which was a key component in DART qualifying for the federal grant. Gillig has already delivered the first buses ahead of a Spring 2026 timeline — meaning that DART riders will get to start riding the upgraded buses on routes by the end of December 2025.

In a statement, DART President & CEO Nadine Lee says the timing is perfect.

“The timing of this grant couldn’t be better as we begin to receive early delivery of new, state-of-the-art vehicles from Gillig and as we move ahead with preparations to provide service to the massive crowds we expect next year with the FIFA World Cup," Lee says. "We are grateful to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, FTA Administrator Marcus Molinaro, and our entire congressional delegation for valuing their strong federal partnership with DART, recognizing the need to find additional funding to support transit programs in one of the fastest growing metro areas in the nation."

This new grant is in addition to $103 million initial federal grants, bringing the total federal support for DART’s purchase of new buses to more than $110 million – reducing the overall cost to DART and member cities.

U.S. Congressional delegates, representing communities across Texas, were instrumental in securing the funding for the grant. The purchase of 476 buses is one part of DART’s Transform, a $2.5 billion 10-year plan to modernize and upgrade the DART system.

transportation